Security forces under pressure – Who protects the protectors?

They are at the forefront when it comes to security in banks, shopping malls, office buildings or at major events such as festivals or football matches – but the working conditions of security workers are often far from safe.

The trade union vida and AK Vienna have taken a close look at the industry and found alarming grievances: excessively long shifts, hardly plannable working hours, lack of overtime payments and dubious business practices. Time for change!

Excessive working hours and lack of planning security

Up to five days in a row, twelve hours on duty – a working day that is not only unreasonable, but also highly risky. "No one can be attentive for so long and ensure safety," warns Gernot Kopp, chairman of the building management department at the trade union vida. In addition, many security forces have to go into action out of readiness for work without having sufficient rest periods beforehand.

In addition, there is extreme flexibility at the expense of the employees: short-term changes to the duty roster, abrupt shifts and minus hours due to illegally ordered working hours make it almost impossible to organize private and family life. In many cases, there is a lack of clear regulations for fair duty rosters and fair remuneration.

Wage dumping and precarious employment

Unclear billing, unpaid overtime and minus hours at the expense of employees are widespread in the industry. Around 36% of the cases examined concerned unpaid or incorrectly billed overtime – in extreme cases, as many as 300 unpaid overtime hours were registered.

Abuse by subcontractors is also particularly problematic. Especially during the festival season, contracts are awarded to a chain of subcontractors that is hardly traceable. The result: Many employees often do not even know exactly who they are actually employed by – and in the end are left with their wage claims.

Dismissals on sick leave: An untenable state of affairs

Security guards who fall ill are often faced with sudden dismissal. Even the second sick leave can be fatal - often the dismissals are made informally via WhatsApp or directly after the sick note.

Security must not exist at a cheap rate!

In order to finally make the industry fair and transparent, the trade union vida and AK Vienna demand:

• Security Services Act: vida and the Chamber of Labour have been calling for years for a legal regulation for private security services that uniformly regulates training, further education and background checks. This law is intended to set clear requirements for security forces and clients, to clearly regulate the demarcation from state tasks in the field of police and judicial guards, and to improve quality in the industry in the long term. According to the government programme, such a regulation is now finally to be implemented – vida and AK Vienna demand rapid implementation.
• Reliable and transparent working hours: Sanctions for employers who do not comply with duty rosters and a flexibility surcharge for last-minute changes to duty.
• Fair pay: Double pay ("Duplum") if overtime is not paid on time, better night shift bonuses and a ban on unpaid overtime.
• Protection against unfair dismissals: Legal protection against dismissals during sick leave.
• Reform of background checks and training: Uniform, nationwide regulations and regulated further training in first aid, de-escalation and fire protection.
• An end to wage dumping: Stricter controls against dubious subcontractor chains, first-class standards in public procurement and tougher penalties for wage and social dumping.

Security is a cornerstone of our society – but this can only be guaranteed if the people who provide security also have fair working conditions.