He
is the first person to greet us and open the door when we visit any
mall, an ATM, a bank, a hotel or an office. And this person is always
seen wearing a smile on his face. This man is a security guard, mostly
spotted in a 'khaki' uniform. Ever thought what a guard earns for his
12-hour-a-day job. A pittance of Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000 a month.
Organisations hire guards from private security agencies. These
agencies pay less than half the amount that they charge from their
clients.
A guard on a condition of anonymity said that he stands for 12 long
hours (from 11 am to 11 pm) at the entrance of a mall and is paid just Rs. 3,000 per month.
“We are made to sign a paper which stated that we would be paid a salary of Rs. 6,500, but we are paid less than half of it,” he added.
Another elderly security guard posted at a monument in the city said, “I am paid Rs. 3,500 out of which, Rs. 350
is deducted as provident fund. It has been five years since I am with
this agency. Once I needed the PF amount after my son’s demise, but they
said there was nothing in my account. After my son’s death, I have six
mouths to feed and meeting ends is hard for me with this small amount.
They don’t pay the salary on time either.”
He also said that he even had a word with the agency’s owner but he
turned down his request stating that this might cost him the job.
However, security agency owners refute the charges of exploitation.
Rajesh Shekhawat, owner of Leader Star Security Agency in Jaipur,
said, “All this isn’t correct. No forgery is done in documents while
hiring guards. We pay them good money. I don’t know about other agencies
but I pay between Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 7,500
per month to every guard. They (guards) are told at the time of joining
that they will be paid a particular sum of money.”
A survey done in the year 2012 had revealed that none of the security guards receive more than Rs. 4,000 per month. There are more than 100 security agencies running in Jaipur and over 500 in whole of Rajasthan
Source: http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-oppressed-private-security-men-guarding-all-but-own-interests-4328137-NOR.html
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