Giving security guards their dues

The lives of security guards are awful. The offices through which they are recruited exploit and hugely underpay these guards. A recent survey reveals that all security guards deployed in Dhaka city at a 12-hour shift receive a meagre salary of more or less Tk 15,000 with no social security or medical leaves. And those who work for 8-hour shift do not get more than Tk 10,000. The security guards, who work at residential buildings, earn the same amount of money to work an almost 24-hour shift per day. They can sleep only three to four hours a day.

The guards provide security to people and their valuables. It is impossible for a person to work a 12 to16-hour shift. Such a practice cannot continue in a civilized society. So, we urge the authorities concerned to increase their salaries and shorten their working hours.

Afroza Sheikh,

Dania, Dhaka,

[email protected]