ASSOCIATION NEWS

Update from SASA

Well, we’re almost halfway through 2022 and the more things change the more they stay the same!

From the desk of Tony Botes, SASA National Administrator.

SECUREX

After a Covid-19 ‘break’ of two years, it is great that SASA can participate in the fantastic SECUREX Expo again, which takes place this year from 31 May to 2 June and from 09:00 to 16:00 on those days. Pop in and visit us at stand E46 in Hall 2, right in the corner opposite the coffee shop. The NBCPSS will occupy the stand right next to us (number E45). Sharrin and I will be in attendance on all three days and members of the SASA Executive Committee will be assisting us on a roster basis. I will also be giving a talk in the Seminar Theatre on

Wednesday, 1 June 2022, on ‘You get what you pay for’ — hopefully sufficient consumers will ‘catch a wake up’ and change their attitudes when selecting quality and good service over price. This presentation will also, after the exhibition, be posted on social media.

PSIRA

Our court papers challenging PSIRA’s uniform restrictions have been signed, registered at the High Court, and served on both the Minister of Police and PSIRA. Both now have the opportunity to submit answering papers, after which the matter will be set down on the court roll. This is not expected to be heard until much later this year, but we will keep our members informed of developments as they unfold.

PSIRA did, after some intense exchange of correspondence, amend their initial fee structure slightly — not enough, but every penny counts. We must thank them for considering our submissions.

STOP PRESS INSERT –It looks as though this ‘uniform’ matter could be settled out of court, but we cannot divulge specific details at this stage. We will go public as soon as we are able to do so.

It is interesting to note, as revealed at the PSIRA Industry Compliance Forum earlier this month, that the number of ‘registered and active’ security service providers (companies) grew to a staggering 11,543 in the fourth quarter (January to March 2022) and the number of ‘registered and active’ security officers to 586,111.

National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector (NBCPSS)

The National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector (NBCPSS) is growing from strength to strength, but unfortunately it’s still unable to handle the many thousands of complaints received on a monthly basis because of their capacity limitation.

SASA believes that we (this office) is the single biggest contributor of non-compliance reports and that the majority of these will result in adverse awards against the plethora of noncompliant security companies, as well as successful PSIRA Code of Conduct prosecutions.

Membership

Our membership declined slightly during 2021/2, but is now growing again by the day, with dozens of enquiries in all categories being received every week.

Our Gold Membership criteria is onerous as we demand total compliance, but, thanks to our newly introduced Mentorship Programme, we are attracting many newly-established security companies into our fold. We welcome them warmly into the SASA family with our commitment, as always, being to assist members with the challenges they’re facing in the current economy.

Compliance

This is still the biggest challenge facing the industry, with – we believe – probably close to 80 percent of companies being grossly non-compliant in terms of minimum remuneration levels, allowances and premiums, and Provident Fund and health insurance contributions.

Another challenge is the growth of ‘disguised employment relationships’ such as cooperatives, independent contractors and, more recently, unregistered learners being employed and deployed at clients’ premises. This problem has greatly increased during the past two+ years of the pandemic, with a great number of consumers (our clients) not accepting statutory increases and even demanding more for less!

The private security industry simply cannot survive these practices and a way must somehow be found to make such consumers jointly liable for the exploitation of security officers.

Benefits of SASA membership:

We are working on expanding membership benefits, which will be communicated to all members once finalised. Currently, these include:

• 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 UNISA (University of South Africa)

• 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 startup security companies with attaining the compliance standards required to qualify for Gold Membership

For more information about what SASA does and how it can assist you and your company, or to report any wrongdoings or concerns, 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