Dr. Syed Nesar Ahmad Rumy :
Now private security companies have become very common in Bangladesh. Mainly they provide security personnel to the different private organizations, high-rise buildings, mills, factories, construction yards etc. Since the decade of nineties security companies stared functioning. Over the years the characters of these companies have got institutional and customary shape. And it has now become a essential components of smooth running of different private institutions, mills, factories and even high-rise residential buildings. Before nineties these jobs were only meant for embodied Ansars. Along with the embodied Ansars the private security personnel employed in the different organizations are doing well. And these companies are now considered as one of the important organizations employing the unemployed youths in Bangladesh. Now at present in every big city we see them working in many organizations such as markets, offices, big buildings, construction yards, mills, factories etc.
Up to the end of decade of eighties the private security companies’ activity did not come to the forefront. Embodied Ansars appointment was the only source of such type of employment. Out of this there were individual recruitments of the people without institutional back up. Those people had not any training for doing such type of work. Only the employer would appoint them and they used to work there. Without any working experience they just used to discharge their duties according to the instructions of the employers. This was the scenario prevailed up to the end of decade of eighties.
But in the end of nineties different security companies were raised as institutions of formal shape. Some retired armed forces’ officers played a pioneering role to establish security companies. They started formal training for their recruits under a moderate institutional back up and those companies started providing security personnel to the many of the private organizations, high-rise buildings, construction yards, supermarkets, mills, factories etc.
Before this era, the traditional security system was very much informal in nature. That time security personnel were called Darwan. Normally they had not any formal security dress. People could not understand who the Darwans/guards were. And they had lacks of confidence to ask any question to the strangers visiting or entering their duty areas. This was one of the weak points of the traditional ways of security arrangements in the then time.
Though the security companies do this commendable work for reducing unemployment but the pay structure of those personnel is very poor. The medical facilities are not sufficiently ensured. Only they get two sets of uniforms and one pair shoes in a year. For this poor pay structure many of them keep themselves in a gloomy mood and cannot keep their families in Dhaka. After 3/4 months some of them might get leave to go to their near and dears in different places in the country.
Now the progress of the economy of Bangladesh is going speedy. New industries, big business houses, big organizations are being set up and within 2/3 years the economy will be elevated to the position of middle income group. So the necessity of private security personnel will be increased. It is assumed that more people will be recruited in near future. Now Bangladesh appears to be one of the fastest growth rated economies in Asia. So running the different private organizations, industries, construction yards security personnel are always required. The present levels of training and behavioral pattern have the scopes to be more sophisticated and proactive. The authorities of the different security companies should look into the matter. For that reason they should stress the need of more investment for the training of those persons.
Social status and acceptability of those personnel are still behind the line of optimum level. To Increase their confidence and service their status should be elevated in such a way that nobody can dare misbehave with them. Institutional support should be provided in case they are in troubles. In this way they will feel confident and better. But the present situation is that the people from the employer’s end do not treat them properly and they often look down to them. This situation they are facing in their everyday service life.
The problem the security personnel facing in their everyday life is the small space where they usually take rest. For uplifting their present situation some steps may be taken and those are as mentioned below: Job security of security personnel must be ensured from the employers end; moderate medical support should be provided by their mother organizations; steps have to be taken to increase their salary and incentives; provisions of logistics such as gas supply should be available for the preparation of their food, recreation facilities should be added by providing TV sets in their resting areas.
The present situation of security personnel might be improved if the above mentioned issues are addressed properly. All of us are looking to those days in upcoming Bangladesh.
(Dr. Rumy is a retired civil servant).
