10 years of suffering at security systems

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday November 8, 2010 00:00

*Late pay normal for multi-million seecurity company

*Workers confess doing odd jobs to survive while waiting for payday

*Company says a rolling over-draft facility for its p3 million wage bill is too expensive

Founding director Gabriel Nkgetse has admitted that they have been having problems with salary payments since 2000 but next month, the company is likely to pay staff before Christmas.

He said the company has not been able to pay workers on time because it cannot bear the high interest rate charged for a rolling over draft facility for its P3 million a month wage bill.

He said late payment of salaries is not good publicity for his company and he is working on something to make sure workers are paid before Christmas next month. He did not reveal the trick he will use to enable the company to pay salaries in time. Security Systems pays workers late - on the fifth day of the following month - because of financial problems. This has been going on for a decade and workers are now complaining that the situation has forced them to live on debt as they borrow money for transport, food and rentals. Others, mostly guards have resorted to doing odd jobs like cleaning cars at their work stations to raise money for food and transport while still waiting for pay.

Nkgetse told The Monitor on Friday that they are ready to cut a deal with any bank willing to give them easier terms on an overdraft to pay salaries.

'If there is any bank willing to give us a good deal, we will be happy, we are ready to pay our workers on time; we tried this before, but it had a knock down effects on our balance sheet.

We could not continue like that, and we decided it is better we pay our workers with our own money.'

Nkgetse said they pay the guards first, from the second or third and fifth of every month after pay day.

'No one is paid later than the fifth. In fact I am the one of those officers who are paid very late. Later than everyone else. On the sixth at the earliest,' he explained.

Nkgetse is surprised that his workers are now complaining that the are getting paid very late while this is not a new thing. 'We make them understand that working with us means they will get their pay as late as on the fifth of the following month, and they agree to this arrangement.'

Formed 26 years ago by a British Mick Reay and local partner Nkgetse, Security Systems has established itself as specialists in CCTV camera installations, alarm services, guarding, cash-in-transit, dog unit, covert task force and alerts.

Their services have attracted a number of leading companies and government ministries countrywide.