Poorly paid security guards

The Jakarta Post made mention of security guards' poor salaries as part of the background of the Sept. 9 bombing in front of the Australian Embassy (Security guards on the frontline poorly paid, Sept. 14, page 8).

Rightly so! Most guards in Jakarta earn only a fraction of their entitlements as per Indonesian labor law, and are even required to provide their own uniforms. This has been revealed in thousands of employment interviews with us.

I must, however, point out that all guards serving the Australian Embassy are legally compensated and earn substantially more than the figures quoted in the above-mentioned report. That is also the case for our guards at nine other leading embassies served by ARLA and, of course, our private clients.

ROLAND LARSSON Technical Adviser ARLA Service Co. Jakarta