By Billy Begas
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte has filed a measure seeking to improve and protect the welfare of security guards and other members of the private security industry.
Duterte and Benguet Rep. Eric Yap have jointly filed the proposed Magna Carta for Security Guards and Other Private Security Personnel.
Under the measure, security guards and other private security personnel will be entitled, among others, to a salary of not less than the minimum wage and service incentive leave and other benefits enjoyed by regular employees, such as overtime pay, social security, 13th month pay, and retirement benefits.
“While they put their lives on the line for the protection of establishments and of the general public, these security personnel are deprived of the same protection from their employers in terms of salary and benefits,” the lawmakers said in the explanatory note of their measure.
A transfer of assignment should not result in a reduction of the wage rate received by the private security worker.
Duterte recalled that in November last year, 12 security guards in Davao Oriental were found to have been deprived by their employer of their rightful pay and benefits, and were thus awarded P1 million by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in money claims.
This case, Duterte said, has highlighted the distressing plight of many security guards who are often underpaid and their labor rights violated by their agencies.
“This is unacceptable considering that security guards and other private security personnel are exposed to risks that could endanger their lives. They are even considered as ‘force multipliers’ in places with limited police presence. They deserve to be treated better,” Duterte said.
The measure also enumerates the rights and privileges of security guards and other private security personnel, which include 1) safe and healthful working conditions that ensure appropriate rest for them and protection from abusive treatment; 2) labor standards, such as but not limited to, service incentive leave, premium pay, overtime pay, holiday pay, night shift differential, 13th month pay, and separation pay; 3) retirement benefits; 4) social security and welfare benefits; 5) right to self-organization and collective bargaining; and 6) security of tenure.
Discrimination against any private security worker by reason of gender, civil status, creed, religious or political beliefs, and ethnic groupings is also prohibited under the measure.
Violators of the proposal will be meted with a fine of P250,000 to P500,000, and/or imprisonment of not more than two years.
