Security Workers Union Demands Full Enforcement of Sh30,000 Minimum Wage for Guards
It warned that it would mobilize its members to remove non-compliant firms from government installations if authorities fail to enforce the wage order.
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
The Kenya National Private Security Workers Union is demanding stricter enforcement of the mandatory Sh30,000 minimum monthly wage for private security guards, accusing some firms of violating the law while continuing to secure lucrative government contracts.
The union has called on the Ministry of Labour to ensure that only security companies complying with the wage directive are eligible to provide security services to government ministries, agencies and other public institutions.
Speaking in Nairobi, the union’s Secretary-General said several private security firms have ignored the government’s wage regulations despite benefiting from public tenders.
“I want to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Labour that, as you have gazetted the minimum wages and general wages in various sectors of the Republic of Kenya, you must put into place mechanisms to make sure the directive by the President is respected and obeyed,” he said.
The union alleged that some licensed security firms continue to underpay guards and fail to meet other statutory obligations, undermining workers’ rights and creating unfair competition within the industry.
It warned that it would mobilize its members to remove non-compliant firms from government installations if authorities fail to enforce the wage order.
“We are going to visit those assignments and make sure we chase them out of those assignments,” the union said, accusing regulators of allowing firms that disregard labour laws to continue operating.
The renewed demand comes more than a year after the Employment and Labour Relations Court upheld the Sh30,000 minimum wage by dismissing a petition challenging the directive.
In February 2025, Mathews Nduma struck out the petition after finding that it had effectively been abandoned by the petitioner and that the matter had been overtaken by events.
The case had been filed by a group of private security company owners seeking to overturn the government’s decision to set the minimum monthly wage for security guards at Sh30,000.
Following the ruling, the union hailed the decision as a major victory for more than 1.3 million private security guards across Kenya, saying it affirmed their right to fair wages and strengthened the legal obligation for employers to comply with the government’s wage order.
The union has now urged labour authorities to intensify inspections and enforce compliance, arguing that firms benefiting from public contracts should demonstrate full adherence to labour laws before being awarded government business.
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