Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli wants the government to crack down on ‘rogue’ private security firms operating in the country.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Atwoli insisted that all the security firms should be registered and listed by the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PRSA)

The unionist says that registration of security firms will also ensure the government collects revenue.

COTU (K) has received an alarming number of petitions from current and former employees of the many rogue private security firms that have blatantly refused to observe minimum wage guidelines, notwithstanding the gazettement of the minimum wage by the Government of Kenya. pic.twitter.com/yTODBnGVYN

— Francis Atwoli NOM (DZA), CBS, EBS, MBS. (@AtwoliDza) January 17, 2023

He says he has received numerous reports and complaints from current and former employees about the said rogue security firms.

Atwoli is accusing some security firms of failing to observe minimum wage guidelines as gazetted by the government.

According to Atwoli, more than 90 per cent of private security firms exist illegally as they are not registered entities yet they employ Kenyans in the sector.

“Consequently, the government loses in revenue from these firms considering their existence is aimed at tax avoidance and evasion and, also, non-remittance of statutory deductions,” Atwoli said.

Private security firms violating regulations

The Cotu boss said failure by the government to crackdown on the said security firms has continued to negatively affect the more than 1.2 million Kenyans.

“Most are hustlers who voted in the government of the day, who are employed in this sector,” he said.

Cotu has already written to a number of security firms demanding the formalization of  their operation by being registered and listed by PRSA.

The letter written through the Kenya National Private Security Workers Union (KNPSWU), also demands that the firms pay their employees nothing less than the gazette minimum wage.

“However, it must be noted that just like the many unscrupulous employment agencies, many private security firms registered under PRSA equally engage in racketeering and violate the labour rights of workers in this sector,” he noted.

According to Atwoli, a majority of the 183 private security firms registered under PRSA remain the worst violators of security worker rights and welfare.

Also Read: Thousands of Jobs at Stake as Government Delays Registration of Private Security Companies

Last week, private security firms had said that the delay in renewing their licences has left hundreds of thousands of guards jobless.

The government has only renewed licenses of 183 private security providers out of the nearly 2,000 firms.

Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) CEO Fazul Mohamed made the announcement.

Security companies have criticized the government’s move saying it is not legal.

According to government directives, it is illegal for any private security provider to run a firm without registration and a 5-year operating license.

Some of the affected companies have vowed to go to court and sue PSRA CEO Fazul Mohamed.

The measures were put in place by former Cabinet Secretary for Interior Fred Matiang’i in early 2022.

Matiang’i had said the measures were being taken to streamline private security providers.