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Prosegur is one of the biggest employers in the private security sector, with more than 150,000 employees worldwide. It is well established in Latin America, yet its terrible track record in the treatment of its workers is unacceptable. Prosegur’s global operation is failing its workers in terms of conditions, training and dignity in the workplace. The recent firing of more than 300 Prosegur workers in Paraguay is a warning to the rest of the region.



By Sadia Kaenzig from Montevideo



Roberto Carlos Florenti, member of SITEPROPASA, a former worker of Prosegur in Paraguay tells us how he has suffered at the hands of the company.



SK - Roberto, tell me about your story?

RCF - I am a parent. I worked for over 15 years with Prosegur, leaving my family more than 18 hours per day. I had no time to be with them. Working alone in precarious conditions, and always afraid to report them ... but with the arrival of young people with new hope, there was a pressing need to organize and form a union, writing letters to the company to make our case ... and so when we stood up for our rights against the company, in order to improve our working conditions that are paramount to subhuman, the answer we got was a total rejection.



SK - How do you describe the current situation there?

RCF - Today in Paraguay, 327 of my co-workers were thrown out on to the street, and most of us are now fighting with the help of UNI at several levels, local, regional and international in order to reinstate in the company as we were unfairly and illegally dismissed. We had some successes. We brought our case against the company and the ministry before the committee of justice and labor; we also succeeded in getting a group of eurodeputies condemn the mass dismissal and back us up in our complaint to the ILO. As we can not count on support in our own country, given the recent coup, we can not turn to Mercosur as Paraguay was suspended. Today we are left with no voice and no vote in our country, and we are on a blacklist, without possibility of recruitment for any occupation. Our only hope is that with UNI we can achieve our goal of finding a viable solution with Prosegur and earn a decent living wage. Our case is in the hand of justice. But we are unemployed, with nothing. My fear is that one of my co-workers will do something God forbid unthinkable… Our children are hungry. So, we fathers have got to act. .... It's really hard.



I have also here with me José Boaventura, representative of CNTV, in Santos, Brazil.



SK - José, can you share with us your opinion on what Roberto says -

JB - Sure. We are very concerned with the situation of Prosegur, because the company now is growing and recently has penetrated into China. We are concerned that in countries such as Colombia, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil (where the company employs more than 53,000 employees), in conditions contrary to its policy in Spain for instance, we don’t have same terms of work. Prosegur claims it has no uniform union and labour relations policy in its history. However, the wage is so low that one cannot even have a decent life style, and even worse the employee works at the risk of his own life. The company works for banks, malls or shops, football fields and even prisons that do not necessarily observe human rights. Excessive overtime of some 20 hours per day is the norm rather than the exception.



SK - And the solution to all of this as you see it?

JB - Prosegur serves multinationals as Banco Santander or Walmart. As Walmart for instance doesn’t agree to open its door for collective bargaining agreement, Prosegur stands behind such argument. Our fight is very important because our vision is to build a strong alliance to combat Prosegur’s unacceptable labor policies. We need a boost to reach a dignified, decent and respectful working conditions. We simply ask for a decent job for a reasonable wage.