Indian workers stand up for justice at G4S
Today the Private Security Guards Union will be distributing information at the India Premier League (IPL) match in Bangalore to raise awareness of the conditions for Group 4 Securicor (G4S) workers.
G4S is one of the largest security companies in India, where their clients include: foreign embassies, HSBC, the IPL and IPL partner, Citibank
G4S claim to be the biggest security company in India, with reportedly 12,000+ workers in Bangalore, yet guards in India struggle to make a living and are not fully protected in their old age because G4S does not pay the full Provident Fund (PF) contributions to workers, leaving them vulnerable in their retirement.
‘Provident Fund is very important for the future of the workers. When they retire they can get a good pension, but G4S is not paying PF properly and their workers will not be able to live off what they are paying’, says Mr. N.M. Muthappa, President of The Private Security Guards Union.
G4S workers are often forced to work excessive hours, some report 36 hour shifts with no break, and no overtime payments.
Worker and union representatives have been trying to negotiate with G4S since January 2008 to improve these conditions.
Despite the company initially agreeing in January to make improvements and meet to resolve the issue of provident fund payments, none of the commitments have been implemented to date.
‘G4S are not ready to meet. They are practicing unfair labour practices and they want to keep them’ says Mr N.M. Muthappa.
‘The long hours is a profit making methodology for management. When they sign their contract with the Principal Employers, they promise 8 hours duty, overtime payments, but they are not appointing enough guards, and not paying overtime.’
India is one G4S’s biggest and fastest growing markets. Over 130,000 of G4S’s 500,000+ strong workforce are employed in India.
Security for Security Workers is a campaign to improve standards in the security industry and is a joint initiative of the Indian trade union centres INTUC and CITU, and UNI Global Union.