SLASSPA holds first-ever Private Security CEO forum
By Malik Gunatilleke
The Sri Lanka Security Service Providers Association (SLASSPA), together with representatives of around 200 private security firms, held its first-ever CEO forum on Tuesday to discuss several key issues pertaining to the security sector.
Bren Security Country President/CEO and President of SLASSPA Major A.U.T. Aluvihare, in his opening address, stated that the forum was organised in order to build a unity amongst the private security firms in the country so that industry problems could be addressed.
“By consciously synergising our efforts we can create a win-win situation for all the stakeholders – the guards, the clients, the service-providers as well as the industry associations, the regulatory body and the Ministry of Civil Security and Urban Development,” he said.
From left: SLASSPA Vice President Colonel Jayavi Fernando, SLASSPA Immediate Past President Brigadier Udene Kendaragama, Executive Committee member Major Vijith Welikala, SLASSPA President Major A.U.T. Aluvihare and SLASSPA Vice President Colonel Deepal Subasinghe
Major Aluvihare reminded the gathering that the core product of the industry was a human being – the guard and that progress in the industry was not possible without giving them the appropriate training, respect and wages. In fact, he referred to the wage issue as being the industry’s biggest stumbling block at the moment. The SLASSPA President also added that with decent wages comes self-respect, which in turn would improve the image of the company and the industry as a whole.
“Over time our industry will be known to have professional standards with a defined code of conduct, proper rules and legislation which are respected by the governing authorities as well as the public.”
He also pointed to the unethical practices of certain private security companies that had tarnished the image of the industry and had contributed to making the security companies unapproachable. While commending the work done by the Industrial Security Foundation (ISF) of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Civil Security and Urban Development, he added that it was time for all the security companies to unite in order to improve the industry.
Major Aluvihare also criticised some of the security companies that did not adhere to the industry standards and best practices while tarnishing the image of the security industry through unethical practices. In this context, he welcomed the Ministry’s role in policing these companies in order to create a level playing field for smaller and ethical companies.
Chief Guest at the forum, Ministry of Defence and Urban Development (Civil Security) Additional Secretary and competent authority on private security agencies Damayanthi Jayaratne, stressed that professionalism in the industry had to be improved in the context of a rapidly developing country, as the demand for high quality security services would also rise greatly.
“In my view, the only way to do this is by maintaining proper standards in the industry, such as recruitment, on the job training and best practices, proper payment of at least the stipulated minimum wage, EPF, ETF and other statutory dues as well as adhering rules laid down by the competent authorities,” she said.
Jayaratne pointed out that the police had already taken action against around 76 companies thus far and requested the gathering to provide authorities with credible information regarding unethical practices.
Wage structure
The service providers called for an acceptable minimum stipulated salary for a guard, to be implemented by a regulatory body or any other relevant authority while some even called for a standardised minimum fee to charge clients.
Vice President of SLASSPA and Chairman of Gallant Plus Security Ltd. Colonel Jayavi Fernando stated that service providers in the industry had abused the wage structure which in turn had affected the trade. As a result of unethical and illegal practices, the labour force has depleted greatly with the workers uninterested in joining security firms due to poor salaries and the lack of benefits.
“I do not need to remind the service providers about this shortage. I personally have a shortage of around 15% in terms of strength because the supply is low,” he said.
Col. Fernando predicted that the industry would die a natural death within the next five years if things did not change, as clients would look to handle their security needs internally. He highlighted the absurdity of a security guard being paid the minimum stipulated amount of Rs.598 for a 12-hour shift while a labourer makes around Rs. 1,000 a day with meals.
Even with this stipulated minimum daily wage, he questioned as to how some service providers are able to charge their clients less than Rs. 600 each day with statutory payments, profits and other costs all added to their charges.
Some guards were being promised daily wages of up to Rs. 1,000 per day but were being short changed by their employers which had created not only a disgruntled workforce but had made the industry an undesirable sector in terms of new recruits.
“Service providers don’t fulfil their promises to the guards and therefore people don’t come to the city to work with us anymore. So we are running below capacity,” he said.
While stressing the need to stick together and create an atmosphere of transparency, he called upon the competent authorities to stamp down on the corruption in the industry and enforce the law against those who were engaging in malpractices.
In an industry that relies heavily on thousands of former military personnel, Col. Fernando highlighted the dangers of creating a frustrated group of combat-trained workers, who possessed certain capabilities, through an industry which was currently set up to abuse and exploit them.
State-stipulated minimum wages
During the discussion Past President of the Industrial Security Foundation (ISF) Nihal De Alwis spoke extensively about his experiences while representing ISF in the Wages Board. He recounted the stone wall he encountered when requesting a Rs. 1,000 annual increment for a security guard during a time when the increment was a meagre Rs. 17.55.
“We need to upgrade the standard of security by giving guards acceptable and realistic wages. If the government insists that this is the wage and the clients also need to pay the quoted wage, then certainly we will get better people for recruitment,” he said.
Many of the service providers shared a similar opinion on the matter with most of them agreeing that a Rs. 1,000 daily wage or even a Rs. 30,000 monthly wage would be a respectable sum for a guard.
A few service providers shared their concerns over being competitive in the market alongside the larger companies in an environment where a minimum stipulated wage was being implemented as clients would almost always choose the larger agencies if the lesser-known agencies were not able to quote lower charges.
It was even suggested that security companies be segmented into different categories based on the size of its workforce after which different wage structures would be imposed.
Competition and dirty tactics
The representatives of most of the newer security firms and the smaller operations brought to light their concerns over corrupt tender processes and the logistical difficulties in competing in a highly polarised industry. The market is dominated by the well-established large-scale companies and the organisations that quoted suspiciously low amounts that could not be competed with. Service providers who are trying to operate according to the rules and etiquettes of the trade are now finding it difficult to maintain industry standards and take on this market atmosphere.
There was a call for strictly enforcing the laws and regulations not only on the other service providers but also on clients who were not held accountable when choosing a security company that did not adhere to the minimum wage stipulations.
This also applied to wage increments as smaller security firms were concerned that their clients would not be able to afford such an increase and would rather opt to solve their security issues internally.
It was also suggested that the Labour Department and the Ministry get involved in the process by which these regulations were implemented more strictly in order to create a fairer playing field.
Certain state institutions that called for tenders from security companies were awarding the tenders to companies that quoted much lower than the stipulated minimum daily wage.
SLASSPA’s role in changing the industry
Former SLASSPA President Brigadier Udene Kendaragama stated that the last wages board increase was implemented on 1 January 2013 with the minimum daily charge to be quoted by any SLASSPA member set at Rs. 996 but he stated that it was unfortunate that the members did not adhere to it.
“It is not the clients who are at fault. According to my study and my opinion, it is our fault. We have created competitiveness in the market amongst clients because we have such different rates. If we play on the same playing field than the clients will have no option but to come to us whatever the rate is,” he said.
Brig. Kendaragama stated that if the SLASSPA members stood by the regulations that they had themselves implemented, the problem of wages and unfair competition would not exist.
He also suggested that service providers stop competing through pricing but through innovation and quality of service adding that under quoting could only serve to kill the company as well as the industry.
The forum revealed that the private security industry’s future is clearly in the hands of its service providers. SLASSPA and its members play a key role in the sustainability of the sector with service providers accepting the blame for its current predicament and agreeing that a mutually-beneficial set of regulations need to be set in place to protect clients, companies and the employees.
Pix by Upul Abayasekara
