Union intervenes to stop security agency from demoting 300 officers to ‘reset’ their wages

A SECURITY agency attempted to demote 300 officers to “reset” their wages, and this prompted the Union of Security Employees (USE) to intervene.

The agency, which hires more than 1,000 officers, then reversed its decision, said labour chief Ng Chee Meng on Tuesday (Feb 7), without naming the agency.

Ng, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said the demotions came as the agency no longer had the contracts to keep these officers at their current job ranks. The move meant that the wages of the officers would be lowered.

Under the Progressive Wage Model for the outsourced private security sector, security officers’ monthly basic wages before overtime start at S$1,650, up from S$1,100 in 2016.

From 2024, there will be a marked shift in officers’ wages under the model. They will receive a gross monthly wage, instead of a basic wage plus overtime. This is because their wages will exceed the S$2,600 cap and, as such, under the Employment Act, they will no longer qualify for overtime wages.

In late 2022, USE got to know about the incident from some of its members and contacted the errant agency. As a result, the agency did not proceed with the demotions, but instead decided to extend the working hours of the officers.

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“This was yet again another attempt to reset the employment terms of these officers,” said Ng.

USE then took the agency to the Manpower Ministry for conciliation. The agency agreed to work with the affected officers to establish remedial actions. The case is still ongoing.

“NTUC and USE are keeping a close watch on this case and will not hesitate to take the agency to task should there be further non-compliance,” said Ng in a statement.

He reminded companies to refer to the Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower and consult the union before taking actions that impact workers.

Ng added that NTUC and its affiliated unions will ensure that workers reap the benefits of the Progressive Wage Model.

“We will ensure that their employers and service buyers alike honour their legal and social obligations to our workers,” he said. THE STRAITS TIMES