Guards stand up for overtime pay

This year the Textile, Garment, Leather and Security Services Workers' Union (TGLSSWU) in Malawi used International Justice Day as an opportunity to raise public awareness about the law which allows employers to cut the wage rate of security guards when they work mandatory overtime.

Just last spring, well regarded human rights lawyers pointed out that ILO Conventions 1 and 30 prescribe premium pay of not less than one and one-quarter times the regular rate for overtime. Yet, in Malawi, only for security guards, employers are permitted to drop the pay to one- half of the regular rate if a workers stays on the job for longer than 8 hours.

And the regular rate is so low that workers earn only about 20 Euros a month despite the fact that they typically work 72 hours per week or longer. Overtime pay of "time and one-half" would increase each worker's pay by more than 50%, a pittance for security companies operating in Malawi, like G4S, but the difference between a solid meal and hunger for many guards and their families.

The union distributed 5,000 leaflets - building on this year's theme for Justice Day- "Its About Time."

UNI is demanding that the Malawian government change the overtime law to require the same premium pay for security guards as for other occupations