ASSOCIATION NEWS

Update from SASA

It has been another month that was, to say the least, interesting and challenging!

From the desk of Tony Botes, SASA National Administrator.

There are a number of matters currently being handled at high level by the SASA National Executive Committee, including:

PSIRA fees and regulations

The PSIRA (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority) annual fees, as published recently, are – in our opinion – excessive and unacceptable, and we have been interacting with PSIRA in writing and meetings, at management level, for them to reevaluate the gazetted fee structures, which also includes a number of changes to their regulations.

We are guardedly hopeful of a successful outcome and will keep our members and the readers of Security Focus Africa informed of developments in this regard.

PSIRA proposed new training standards

The Authority has circulated long overdue training standards, which will be a great improvement on the Grades E to A levels, which have been in existence since the early 1990’s. This could, however, if published as proposed by them, result in extreme logistical, practical and financial challenges to both security service providers and security officers, at all levels. Again, we will continue to interact with them for clarity and with practical proposals.

Firearms legislation

The SAPS (South African Police Service) has published the draft Firearms Control Bill, which – if implemented and gazetted in its current form – will have an extreme effect on the entire firearm population and, even more so, on the private security industry. SASA will be submitting our comments, both objections and proposed amendments, very shortly and trust that sanity will prevail in the final gazette.

Covid-19

While the private security industry, as a whole, has played a massive and valuable role in assisting to curb the spread of the pandemic, we should be doing much more in this regard. We are looking into this at the moment and hope to make an announcement shortly.

NBCPSS

The establishment of the National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector (NBCPSS) in 2020 was a result of an exercise that commenced in the mid-1990s and is probably the greatest achievement in our industry, thanks to massive interaction between organised employers (the major employer organisations) and organised labour (the trade unions). At last, we may be the masters of our own destiny, but the challenge is that, although legislated and a statutory requirement, only a fraction of the more than 10 000 security companies have registered with the Council to date and are contributing the levies by both employers and employees. The Council simply cannot operate and fulfil its legal mandate without funding via these levies and, inter alia, has an obligation to handle:

• All labour relations disputes in our sector, currently the responsibility of the CCMA.

• All remuneration-related complaints, currently the responsibility of the Department of Employment and Labour and the CCMA.

• Compliance inspections and payroll audits of security businesses and in-house security employers.

• The total enforcement of both the NBCPSS Levies Agreement and the Main Agreement, the latter having replaced the now-defunct Sectoral Determination 6.

The NBCPSS infrastructure is still far too small and underfunded to effectively handle all of these matters, but it is of critical importance that all role players come to the party.

NBCPSS Main Agreement Exemption

The employer parties to the NBCPSS, of which SASA is the largest, applied for and were granted a 12-month exemption in respect of the gazetted increases that became effective on 1 March 2021. This exemption, which applies to only members of the employer organisations who are currently party to the bargaining council, contains:

• A 12-month moratorium on the increase in the Security Officer Premium Allowance, which should have increased from R175 to R270 per month.

• An application to the Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF) in terms of which the monthly contributions would, also for a period of 12 months, be reduced from a total of 15%, paid equally by employers and employees, to 5%, which would still grant the employees all of the risk benefits, such as death, disability and funeral cover, but without investment growth.

The PSSPF portion of the exemption, once approved, will apply to all participating employers. However, the NBCPSS exemption process makes provision for any employer to apply for an exemption on any aspect of the Main Agreement, but subject to the criteria set out in clause 34 thereof.

Breaking news hot off the press

The Minister of Employment and Labour has just issued a correction gazette, number 44674, containing a number of corrections and clarifications to the NBCPSS Main Agreement of 2020.

The relevant portion of this gazette has been distributed to SASA members, but please contact the SASA office if you require a copy.

Compliance

This has historically been the greatest challenge facing the private security industry! The use – or abuse – of independent contractors, also referred to as self-employed security officers (SESOs), unregistered learners and cooperatives, to name but a few, has led to gross abuse and exploitation of security officers for many years – especially now during the Covid-19 pandemic period – and client resistance to any cost increases has resulted in a massive increase of these practices.

Enforcement of the statutory minimum levels of remuneration, conditions of employment and employee benefits must be stepped up by all statutory bodies and it will require an intensive collaboration by the NBCPSS, PSIRA, DoEL (Department of Employment and Labour), PSSPF and both organised employers and labour to tackle and eradicate non-compliance in our industry.

SASA has always demanded of its members, in terms of our constitution, documentary proof of their total compliance with all statutory requirements, both upon joining and annually thereafter. This is also a condition of our valuable Gold Membership. This process will continue to be enforced and, where necessary, membership of our association will be withdrawn in cases where breaches of our membership criteria have been identified and proven.

Mentorship Programme

Last year, SASA embarked on a Mentorship Programme to assist startup and micro companies through the PSIRA registration process and registration/ compliance with all statutory requirements. This has proven highly successful, and we are confident that it will grow from strength to strength over time.

Benefits of SASA membership:

• A strictly applied Code of Ethics.

• Representation at national and local government level.

• Industry exposure in the media as well as at major shows and exhibitions.

• Contacts and networking opportunities.

• Discounted training courses, events and seminars.

• Access to a security library managed by the University of South Africa (UNISA).

• Updates on new legislation and other industry-relevant information.

• Access to security-related and affiliated associations in South Africa and overseas.

• The SASA national website.

• A central administration office.

• Free digital subscription to Security Focus Africa magazine, the official journal of SASA.

• A mentorship programme which is designed to guide and assist start-up security companies with attaining the compliance standards required to qualify for Gold Membership.

For more information about what SASA does and how it can help you and your company, please contact:

Tony Botes, SASA National Administrator, at:

Tel: 0861 100 680 / 083 650 4981

Cell: 083 272 1373

Email: info@sasecurity.co.za / tony@sasecurity.co.za

Website: www.sasecurity.co.za