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Security guards fed up
News
BY CANDICE HAUGHTON Staff reporter haughtonc@jamaicaobserver.com  
November 28, 2021

Security guards fed up

Workers at Shalk Electronic say they are unhappy with management’s treatment

Security guards employed at Shalk Electronic Security Company are unhappy with what they say is the manner in which they are treated by their managers, whom they described as “dismissive” when they complain of late pay or being underpaid.

Joel Williams, who was employed in September, told the Jamaica Observer that he actually worked one month before he received his first pay, even though he is contracted to be paid every fortnight.

“About two weeks into October, I was still experiencing the same thing. I sent up a number of hours to them so I could get my salary in my [bank] account. The hours that were sent to them, when I received my salary it was short of $17,000 and that was my first pay cheque. They said to me that those were the hours they saw for me,” Williams stated.

Williams also added that for the next pay cycle he sent his supervisor a form detailing that he worked 216 hours, which meant that he worked more than the minimum 40 hours for each week. However, Williams said after he calculated his contracted wage at $350 per hour, his pay was short again.

“That should’ve been calculated at over $70,000. When I received my salary for that fortnight, I only received $52,300, so that pay cheque was short as well. So, I sent them an e-mail requesting my payslip to see the rate and the hours that they calculated for me, l have not received that as yet,” Williams confirmed.

Determined to reach a resolution, he said he contacted his supervisors, but Williams said nothing was done.

“I saw that it was significantly short for both pay cheques, I started making inquiries, I asked them about the rate they were paying me at, they said it’s $305, because the rate that I originally signed for was for me to work in Mandeville. No one informed me that they would be changing the rate,” Williams continued.

He went on to say that he told his supervisors he had no problem with the new rate.

“It’s just the fact that no one communicated such changes with me and I was upset about that so I told them that needs to be rectified. When I worked in November, I sent up another 209 hours for the fortnight and when I received the salary for that it was short again for $11,000. On each of the pay cheques I received, none of them were full, even with the new rate that I calculated [at], it was still short.”

Feeling slighted by the company’s handling of the issue, Williams vowed to take legal action, especially after he claimed that he was relieved of his duties unfairly and was almost arrested by police on numerous occasions for not having proper identification after curfew hours.

“I worked for the company for two months and I only received one day off, hence the number of hours that is submitted. I am not afraid to speak up and that’s what the company does not like…I haven’t received an identification card (ID) [and] uniform. The only thing I got from them is a cap with their logo on it and a mask with their logo on it. They said I should buy a white shirt and send it to them so they can print on the logo. I did that with three new brand white shirts and I didn’t get back those,” Williams explained.

He further stated: “I had police officers stop me multiple times about the hours that I am actually on the road, travelling back and forth from work. I can remember two times since I’ve been with the company I’ve been stopped by police officers. Five officers approached me, sticking me up with their rifles and I did not have a Shalk ID to present at that time. The company that I was working at before Shalk, that’s the ID I had to show to prove that I was working as a security officer.”

Adding that he informed his superiors about the incident with the police officers, Williams said he was still not given an ID card. Williams also noted that he was fired almost three weeks ago after his doctor advised him to take seven days off to rest because he was overworked.

“I got a phone call from one of the supervisors saying that the office said I should not take up any more duties until I turn up to the office…They informed me that [we] would have a meeting because they are going to charge me for malingering,” Williams told the Sunday Observer, noting that he was presented with a letter informing him that he was let go because of his performance while working.

Defending his work performance, he stated, “Based upon performance, I know there have been a lot of improvements since I went to that location. They had incidents of vehicles being missing, equipment and materials being missing. I worked one of those nights on canine patrol and I apprehended one of the criminals that was moving some of the materials from off the May Pen Hospital location. I caught the man leaving with a few pieces of board that they were using to construct the green-field hospital for the COVID patients.”

At the same time, another security guard, who wished only to be identified as 21-year-old Roy, told the Sunday Observer that he is having a similar issue with Shalk Electronic Security.

“My issue was that when I just came here in October [and] I worked one month and two weeks before I even got my first pay. I had to make noise, get vex and walk off the shift just for them to pay me at that time,” he declared.

“[They] don’t pay on time. They are paying below what they are supposed to pay, they pay $230 a hour while you’re on probation. I’ve heard guards say that they have been here four years and still getting $230, so I don’t know. The contract that was present to me was just a [form] that we put in our bank account and name. It never outlined anything about the rate, it was just me inquiring about how much will I get,” he said, adding that following the Private Security Regulation Authority’s (PSRA) guidelines, he should not be paid anything less than $286 per hour.

Stating that he is feeling nervous about his second payday, since he was not confident his pay will arrive on time, Roy added, “I don’t think that somebody should work and not get paid. They have to be complaining and calling to get their money. Also, I’m wondering why they are not giving anyone their payslip, we don’t get payslip.”

Meanwhile, another guard, who requested to only be identified as Tray, also complained of experiencing similar issues as Roy and Williams when dealing with the company’s management team .

“I realised that the hours that I work, when I checked it up I wasn’t getting what I was supposed to. So, I requested my payslips to see if it was a case where certain things were being drawn out like NHT [National Housing Trust] and NIS [National Insurance Scheme], but that wasn’t it,” Tray noted.

He further told the Sunday Observer that it was “rather difficult” to acquire the payslips as he waited weeks before it was issued.

Explaining the atmosphere he felt when he went by the office in Spanish Town to request payslips, Tray said,“They feel like I am stepping out of line for asking, so the atmosphere is not welcoming whenever pay issues come up.

“The original rate is the rate stated by PSRA. So, on Sundays and holidays we [should] get paid double, which they don’t pay over 40 hours. They just calculate all the hours and pay you one flat rate. I haven’t gotten paid for any holidays so far or for my Sundays,” he continued.

Now, he said he is contemplating taking legal action because of the handling of his contract and he confirmed he is in dialogue with the PSRA and the Ministry of Labour.

However, public relations officer at Shalk Electronic Security company, Joan Ried, vehemently denied claims that the company is mistreating guards.

“I have no knowledge of that. If they are saying they haven’t received any uniforms or any ID, any of our guards working must have a uniform, so that is erroneous. Any guards working at Shalk, they would not fall in any of the categories you just mentioned just now,” Reid refuted.

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