About 40% security officers in S’pore face abuse almost daily, union launches app to report grievances

Singapore — About two in five security officers in Singapore face abuse while on duty almost daily, said the Union of Security Employees (USE).

The findings are part of the latest survey on the welfare, wages, and job prospects of security officers conducted by USE and the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

The study included 1,000 officers surveyed between July to September this year. They shared experiencing verbal or physical abuse at work, mostly coming from members of the public targeted at older officers.

Other sources of abuse came from employers, service buyers and residents.

The increase in cases could stem from increased Covid-19 measures officers are required to implement, hence more run-ins with members of the public, noted USE executive secretary Steve Tan in a Straits Times report.

Mr Tan cited an example where a driver scolded a security officer at a car park gantry in Kallang because he was confused about which mode of payment was accepted.

“The officer didn’t deploy the gantry there, but he faced the brunt of the abuse because the system was poorly designed.”

“There has also been an increase in the frequency of such cases, with at least 40 per cent of those who reported verbal abuse indicating that they experienced such incident at least every two weeks,” said USE in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Dec 28).

“We urge the general public to recognise the important work our security officers perform. They are at the forefront, protecting properties and lives, so co-operate with them”, said Raymond Chin, General Secretary of USE.

In response to the issue, USE has launched a one-stop mobile application for officers to report any workplace issues and grievances.

Affected officers can input details of the incident with a photo and location. The report will then be routed to USE mediation service for follow-up, said USE.

The mobile app is available for download from this link.

On wages and work prospects, survey findings showed that about 70 per cent of respondents said they had fair compensation and expected a median wage increase of about S$150 in 2022.

Meanwhile, about eight in 10 respondents said they were satisfied with their job.

The findings will assist USE in improving working conditions for staff, said Mr Tan.

“USE values the welfare of our officers and stays committed to support and work with our industry stakeholders towards the development of a positive work environment and better wellbeing of our security officers,” said the agency in its post. /TISG

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