He may be turning only 30 this year but having been in the security line since he was 16, Union of Security Employees (USE) President Hareenderpal Singh has seen the industry going through a number of changes over the years. He started work as a security guard (now known as security officers) and has worked his way up to an operations manager at Premier Security Co-operative.
Hareenderpal’s passion for serving as a union leader has always been one of his top priorities, and he works tirelessly to improve the lives of security officers and the industry. He has been serving on USE’s executive committee since 2011 and has been the union’s president since 2013.
NTUC This Week: What are the daily challenges you face as an operations manager and union leader?
Hareenderpal Singh: I have to balance the company’s contractual obligations and the needs of the officers. Let’s say a dispute occurs, I have to balance the two roles that I play, and that is where it gets tricky.
I can’t be seen leaning towards the company too much, and at the same time, I can’t be too pro-worker. I think this is a daily dilemma many union leaders face because no matter what decision is made, one party will be unhappy.
It’s not easy, but for me at the end of the day, I have to be objective. I’ll look at who’s in the right and who’s wrong, based on facts.
One thing good is that the company I’m working for is enlightened and has a good working relationship with the union. Being a co-operative, the company looks after the welfare of the employees well and has their interests at heart. In fact, the company has given up contracts when they found that the buyers weren’t taking care of the officers well. The company gave the buyers a couple of month’s termination notice on the contract and simply walked away.
The officers followed Premier instead of staying at the worksite because they realised the company was willing to throw away profits for their welfare.
Earlier this year, the company you work for conducted a redundancy exercise after it lost one of its biggest contracts. Take us through that experience.
This incident was an odd occurrence because, in the security industry, we will never hear of cases of agencies conducting redundancy exercises. This was, in fact, the first ever reported redundancy exercise in the security industry because it was so large scale.
It was an emotional journey for everybody. From the top management to the union leaders to the officers on the ground. I spent days going around on the ground speaking to the officers and assuring them that they were not being abandoned and that the union was working something out with the management to negotiate a package and do whatever we could to assist. In that exercise, the union and company did whatever we could to fairly compensate the affected workers.
What role does legislation play to transform the security industry?
Union leaders can mobilise the ground but ultimately for things to get done, we must legislate. My take as a union leader is that the Security Tripartite Cluster and the Security Industry Transformation Committee must push for legislation.
Legislation will not weaken the voice of the union. It actually helps us push to better the lives of our officers. Take the Progressive Wage Model as an example. If it weren't mandatory, not many agencies would comply with it. Legislation acts as a lever for the union to use when we are trying to get agencies to move.
USE represents about 50 per cent of the industry. The other half are non-unionised companies. If there were no legislation, and only unionised agencies complied with new efforts and initiatives, then it would be almost impossible to transform the industry.
