Security guards

Nearly 3,000 guards embarked on an indefinite strike on January 21 to demand the payment of their wages. Their employers claim that they are unable to pay as the government department which has contracted them has not released funds

During talks with unions representing security guards in South Africa, the employers’ association offered a 5% hike which would still not bring salaries close to the living wage

Nine South African unions, representing around 150,000 security guards, have termed the employers’ offer of a 1.1% hike an insult. Security guards earn barely enough to afford the basic necessities for a single adult, with hardly any means left to support dependents