The Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) has ordered private security companies to refund training fees deductions made from security guards' salaries.
In a letter to the firms on June 19, the regulatory authority further directed the companies to stop charging the training fees immediately.
PSRA disclosed that private security service providers were under legal obligation to provide basic and continuous training for their employees.
"Pursuant to paragraph (c) of the Second Schedule of the Act, private security service providers are under legal obligation to provide basic and continuous training for their employees - private security officers.
"In light of the above legal provisions, the Authority has firmly anchored its decision and has issued a legal advisory to the effect that it is the private security company and NOT the private security officer that SHALL cover the cost of the mandatory security training," PSRA's Director General Fazul Mohamed stated.
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Mohamed noted that, effective immediately, "no private security company shall deduct monies from private security officers (security guards) to cover security training costs."
He said that the authority had received reports of some firms deducting up to Ksh10,000 from the security guards' salaries, thereby adversely affecting their financial well-being.
The PSRA Director General intimated that security companies that persist in the deductions will be subjected to a statutory review of their registration and licensing status.
The move comes after PSRA issued a seven-day ultimatum to private security firms on June 11 to ensure they had submitted a duly signed and commissioned legal commitment to pay a minimum wage of Sh30,000 for private security officers.
The regulatory authority maintained that security firms that would not have submitted their legal commitments by June 17 would have their certificate of registration cancelled immediately.
