By Mohamed A. Josiah
The non-payment of salaries to Hughes Security guards by their administrators in the Provinces has caused domestic problems for the affected personnel.
It is now clear that the homes of the affected personnel are suffering as they could not cater for their dependents.
One of the affected guards, James told Nightwatch he had gone unpaid for over three years. “I have not been paid by managers for over three years,” the guard complained. “The non-communication habit has created unrest and exposed them to public mockery,” he emphasised.
James also told this medium that they had no “job security” in terms of payment of their National Social Security Insurance Trust and other benefits.
The guard also spoke about the issue of deployment which, he said, he knew only about the office in Bo. “Bo Government Hospital and Bo District council have 10 personnel deployed there,” he said.
In an interview with the Managing Director, Hughes Security International Company, Sian Bartlett said Bo Government Hospital has not paid the Company for over two years.
The company, he said, also experienced similar problem with Bo District Council. “How can we pay guards when we do not receive payments from the facilities we secure,” he complained. “The guards are at liberty to abandon their location or look for another job,” the manager suggested.
He however assured that they would be called upon for payment when they receive payments from their clients.
The company’s finance officer, Mohamed Mansaray also told Nightwatch that the company had been terminated sometime in 2016.
Calls to renew the contract, he said, had been turned down.
Currently, the condition of the guards and the administrators remains deplorable. They are appealing to the authorities to come to their aid to get their salaries paid.