Poorly paid security guards

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