Tuesday, April 2, 2024 - Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) Chief Executive Officer Fazul Mahamed has justified his directive to companies to raise the monthly minimum wages for security officers to Ksh30,000.
Speaking yesterday, Fazul 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.
Fazul 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."
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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