Private security guards win in court against cheapskate bosses

A security company in KwaZulu-Natal has been ordered by the Labour Court to pay more than R100‚000 in fines for underpaying its workers.

The Durban Labour Court ordered Kenyon Security and Cleaning Services CC to pay a fine of R22‚209.36 to the Department of Labour following complaints from several of its workers that they were not being paid in line with the sectoral determination for private security. The labour court further ordered the company to pay R88‚837.44 for under-payment.

"The workers’ complaints were confirmed during a subsequent inspection by the Department’s inspectors who found that the company had contravened the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)‚" said Lungelo Mkamba‚ provincial spokesperson for the department.

"The inspectors issued a compliance order to the company‚ requesting the employer to pay the workers. When the employer failed to adhere to the compliance order‚ the Department took the matter to the Labour Court‚" he said in a statement.

Mkamba said if the company failed to comply with the court order‚ the Department would petition the sheriff of the court to attach and sell the company’s assets in order to settle the claim.