Security guards complain of low salaries, dangerous work

Security guards are generally hired for two reasons: To protect property from those seeking to commit criminal acts and to protect shoppers and other visitors to an area from anyone seeking to do them harm. If the security guards themselves do not feel safe, however, their effectiveness is compromised and their own well-being is at risk.
“It is dangerous work,” said Salem Mabrook, a Jeddah-based security guard who has often been asked to guard sites extremely vulnerable to thieves and other criminals.
The danger inherent in such work, however, is exacerbated by the conditions under which most security guards are forced to work, — unarmed.
“I have guarded highly vulnerable sites like banks, gold shops and big companies, but I don’t even have a weapon to defend myself with if I were to have to apprehend thieves or get into a confrontation with them.”
Mabrook also lamented the low salary paid to security personnel. “I have been doing this work for three years, but my salary is only SR1500.”
While the job does not pay well nor offer significant benefits, not to mention the lack of security for the guard himself, security companies do not place the hiring bar very high. Observers say that the majority of security guards in the Kingdom are not qualified to ensure security at at-risk sites because there are no real requirements for becoming a security guard. Beyond “able-bodied” and “highly alert,” the list of requirements is non-existent.
“The only thing we ask for in a Saudi youth that we want to hire,” explained Mohammad Al-Hazaa, a security company manager, “is that they have an intermediate diploma and be less than 20 years old…We also train new employees on security skills.”
In the case of Saudi security guards, “security skills” do not include defending oneself with firearms, no matter how sensitive or at-risk the site may be.
The pay scale, Al-Hazaa continued, depends on the client. “Salaries,” he said, “are according to the importance of the site our employees guard. We can pay more than SR3,000 for guards with specific skills and strong bodies.”
Despite all the negatives association with the position, young Saudis have shown interest because of the paucity of alternatives. The field has reached 100 percent Saudization, and there are no other jobs that accepts Saudis who have only an intermediate diploma.
Still, those who are charged with protecting us and our property do not appear to embrace the profession.
“I am afraid to guard some buildings in the south of Jeddah,” said Mohammad Naeem, a Saudi security guard. “Those sites can be dangerous, especially when I work at night. I hope to find another job, but there are no jobs for people with only high school degrees.”
“One night after midnight, I confronted two young men who were hanging around a commercial center in the south of Jeddah, but after threatening to beat me up, they ran away. I was afraid because I had no weapon to face them with,” Naaeem added.
Another security guard, Saeed Maimon, found a glimmer of romanticism in the job, but it is usually overshadowed by reality. “Working at night is an adventure. There’s no way I can predict the kind of criminal activity I might face. I pray every day to return home safely.”
All of which raises the question: if the security guards do not feel safe, how can the rest of us?