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Metrorail to skimp on safety – DA |
| JOHANNESBURG - Documents leaked to the Democratic Alliance (DA) show that Metrorail will on Friday cancel contracts with security companies that have been providing safety and security services to commuters at train stations. The move to cancel the contracts follows the decision by supplier companies to increase staff wages for the first time in two years thus increasing the costs of providing security to Metrorail. When suppliers turned to the courts for relief, Metrorail opted to terminate the contracts to avoid paying the increases. The DA’s Manny de Freitas says Metrorail staff told him the security gaps left by the termination of the contracts would be addressed by the deployment of 2 000 SA Commuters Organisation (Saco) safety patrollers. Unlike security guards from private security companies, the patrollers do not carry firearms. “Saco is an NGO that is not registered with the Private Security Industry Regulating Authority and staff are not adequately trained for the provision of security services,” De Freitas said. “While it is true that Metrorail and its parent company, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, has been experiencing cash-flow problems due to chronic under-funding, commuters should not have to bear the brunt of this by having their safety compromised at train stations,” he said. By Citizen Reporter The Citizen 08/03/10 Click here to respond to this article - Your responses will get vetted and printed on "Have your Say" |
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