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Monday, February 24, 2025

School security officers to withhold services

by

Kevon Felmine
1553 days ago
20201124

Se­cu­ri­ty of­fi­cers sta­tioned at sev­er­al schools across the coun­try say they will not be re­port­ing for du­ty as it is now sev­en months they are work­ing with­out a salary.

About two dozen em­ploy­ees from Sure Se­cu­ri­ty Ser­vices Ltd protest­ed out­side the Point Fortin AC Pri­ma­ry School yes­ter­day, call­ing on the com­pa­ny to pay months of salaries and NIS con­tri­bu­tions. Ba­ton of­fi­cers said they al­ready hand­ed back keys to school prin­ci­pals as they are fed-up with see­ing their bank ac­counts and pantries emp­ty.

“We have tak­en a stand that un­til we are paid, we will not re­port for du­ty at any lo­ca­tion,” An­tho­ny Cato told Guardian Me­dia yes­ter­day. Cato said both of­fi­cers and of­fice work­ers are with­out pay, de­spite the com­pa­ny hav­ing a con­tract with the Min­istry of Ed­u­ca­tion to sta­tion of­fi­cers at pri­ma­ry schools around the coun­try.

Cato said that when em­ploy­ees called the head of­fice in St Joseph pre­vi­ous­ly, it was rare that any­one an­swered.

When some­one picked up the phone, man­age­ment told them that the Min­istry of Ed­u­ca­tion had not paid the com­pa­ny.

They said it’s been hard on their pock­ets and is de­mo­ti­vat­ing af­ter work­ing 24-hours shifts. 

“We have been sur­viv­ing lit­tle by lit­tle with help from fam­i­ly and friends. Those who work with us, prin­ci­pals and teach­ers would give us a hand, when need­ed. We do not ask for any­thing, but they help. Right about now, peo­ple are just try­ing to hold on­to a job.”

But while they hold on, work­ers are of­ten hun­gry as they bare­ly have mon­ey to buy food.

Yoland Gift said that while the com­pa­ny claims the min­istry has not paid, it con­tin­ues to func­tion as usu­al.

“We do not have any food. Long time we could have still stood a chance be­cause we could have got a lit­tle school feed­ing. But there is no school so there is no box lunch, so we are dead.

“How can we work with­out food and you want us to come to work? If we call, we can­not get in con­tact with you, and if we get in con­tact with you, you say the min­istry did not pay. So if the min­istry does not pay, we can­not live be­cause you do not have mon­ey to pay, but your busi­ness fixed,” Gift said.

Guardian Me­dia called four phone num­bers list­ed for the com­pa­ny, but all were out of ser­vice. 


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