Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) Chief Executive Officer Fazul Mahamed has justified his directive to companies to raise the monthly minimum wage for security officers to Ksh30,000.
Speaking in a clip shared by PSRA on Monday, the Chief Executive hinted that some security companies' leaders were overworking their employees and not paying them for services rendered during overtime.
For instance, the minimum wage according to the Constitution is pegged at Ksh17,000 monthly across all sectors for 52 hours served per week.
However, companies only opt to pay the monthly minimum wage while expecting their workers, especially watchmen, to serve for 12 hours a day, or 72 hours a week.
"The Employment Act clearly puts the legal working hours to 52 per week. If you divide the number of hours, you should be working for 8.3 hours per day," Mahamed explained.
"How many hours do you work? Let's do the math. If you take 12 hours (per day) and multiply by six, it is 72. Your overtime from 52 hours to 72 hours is 20 hours. That overtime must be compensated."
"Many people have been asking me where the Ksh30,000 minimum wage came from. Let me give you the maths. The Gazetted wage for 52 hours a week is Ksh17,000. That is without overtime," he added.
Mahamed further noted that if compounded, the security officers serve a combined 80 hours per month which go uncompensated.
"If we add overtime of 20 hours per week and a month has four weeks. So 20,000 multiplied by four is 80,000. If you calculate, the overtime payment comes to Ksh9,000. If you add Ksh17,000 and Ksh9,000, it comes to Ksh26,000," Mahamed added.
"If you add a housing allowance, we shall place it at Ksh3,000, the total comes to almost Ksh29,000. If anyone asks, give them that logic."
Speaking during the mass registration of guard force numbers at Uhuru Park, Mahammed directed all heads of private security firms to raise the minimum wage or risk having their names made public.
The directive was despite the Ministry of Labour declaring the PSRA's recommendation illegal.
In January, Labour CS Florence Bore argued that the ministry could not authenticate the proposed salary increase, emphasizing that the matter was sub judice.
Mahamed, however, insisted that the wage must be raised to accord the employees better living standards.
“We will not recognise any CBA below Ksh30,000. Next week, I will be publishing the names of companies that have not committed to implementing the CBA,” stated Fazul.
"Change is imperative. We cannot continue with business as usual. Commitments must be honored."
