Abstract
Precarious employment has been a constant feature in South Africa’s Employment relations. The private security industry is amongst the most significant absorbers of low-skilled labour. It has been widely acknowledged that employment conditions are characterised by job insecurity, long working hours, meagre wages and no access to benefits such as medical aid and housing. The decent work agenda is a policy framework that promises all workers, regardless of their occupation, access to employment opportunities, rights at work, social dialogue and social protection. This study aimed to explore the effect of precarious employment on the proletariat in the private security sector in South Africa. Specifically, this study probed into the lived experiences of private security officers and sought to understand how their precarious employment status affects them and whether the State's adoption of the decent work agenda has bettered their conditions.
This study adopted the qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data from employees who are working as boom gate officers for a registered private security company. The selected participants were deemed suitable for the study as they are active in the industry and are better equipped to determine whether precarious employment adversely impacts their lives in the South African private security industry. The study found a decent work deficit in the private security industry. The absence of trade unions leaves private security officers vulnerable to exploitation, underpaid and unable to bargain for better work conditions collectively. The existence of trade unions in the industry can lead to the refurbishment of the current collective bargaining councils into a more effective platform that can be sympathetic to the needs of security officers. The study also highlighted how the prevalence of underpayments and irregular income impacts the financial stability of security officers. The research contributes theoretically to the existing body of knowledge regarding precarious employment and decent work within the private security industry.
KEYWORDS
Precarious employment, decent work, precarity, security officer, private security industry, proletariat, psychology of working theory, South Africa.