Security guards employed by Golden Security Services went on strike at Heideveld Day Hospital in Cape Town on Tuesday over salary disputes. Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee
By Mary-Anne Gontsana, Tori Newby and Ihsaan Haffejee – first published at GroundUp
IN SUMMARY
Security guards employed by Golden Security Services went on strike at Heideveld Day Hospital on Tuesday over unpaid salaries. This followed a similar strike at Groote Schuur Hospital last week. The guards claim they have been underpaid, and payments have been inconsistent, leading to financial hardship. Golden Security Services has instructed the guards to fill out pay query forms to resolve the issue.
At Heideveld, about 30 security guards were protesting, with some explaining the difficulties they face due to the salary discrepancies. One guard, Abonga Zuma, said he was owed R3,500, and another, Siphendulele Qobo, had R703 wrongfully deducted for leave he didn’t take. Nkululeko Ngadlela showed his payslip, revealing an incorrect ID number and that he was owed nearly R2,000.
Golden Security Services’ operations managers stated that salary payments were made but had not yet reflected in the bank accounts. They acknowledged some legitimate pay issues but claimed some misunderstandings arose from deductions, including for unauthorized strikes. They encouraged workers to submit pay queries. The Provincial Department of Health confirmed awareness of the dispute and that arrangements had been made to maintain security at affected facilities.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no agreement had been reached, and other security guards at Mowbray Maternity Clinic were also experiencing wage disputes but had not joined the strike.
WHAT WORKERS SAID:
- Abonga Zuma:
“Golden Security Services keeps paying us on different dates, paying our salaries in short, and then tells us that we need to hand in payment queries [forms] if we want our outstanding amounts … I am owed R3,500.”
“How am I going to do all of that with R6,000 per month?” - Siphendulele Qobo:
“A lack of communication from the management.” - Nkululeko Ngadlela:
Showed GroundUp his payslip. His ID number was wrong and has never been corrected despite him raising it with the company. He said he is owed almost R2,000. - Nkosinathi Sopazi (Golden Security Services operations manager):
“On the issue of pay queries, I will agree and disagree. Some do have legitimate pay queries, but some pay queries are because they do not understand that there are deductions.”
“If you say the company owes you money, you must submit a pay query and if the company made a mistake, we would definitely acknowledge that and pay.” - Dwayne Evans (Provincial Department of Health spokesperson):
“We are aware of the continued dispute between some contracted security staff and their employer affecting limited facilities in Cape Town.”
“The matter has again been discussed with the relevant security company and some engagements with their staff have taken place. Our teams have been able to make temporary arrangements to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and visitors.” - Unnamed security guard at Mowbray Maternity Clinic:
“We have a crisis here with this new security company who doesn’t want to pay us.”
