A Prosec Security top.
PHILIPSBURG--The personal lives of workers of Prosec Security Company, run by former Chief Police Commissioner and labour mediator Derrick Holiday, are getting dire by the day as the workers struggle to make ends meet, having not been paid their full salary since January.
The accommodation of some of the workers is in jeopardy and some have had to seek assistance from friends and family to put meals on the table for themselves and their children. The utilities of some have been disconnected. One worker who did not show up for work at one of the locations, was reportedly fired.
When contacted recently for comment on when workers will be paid, the Operations Manager of the company said he too has not been paid and he said all questions should be directed to Holiday, who could not be reached for comment. Numerous calls to Holiday’s mobile by this newspaper over a span of several days have gone unanswered.
This newspaper understands that workers were expected to receive payment on Friday, but this did not happen. The company has an estimated 17 or 18 workers, some of whom have since quit. Prosec Security is said to have contracts with the Coast Guard, three locations of utilities company GEBE, University of St. Martin (USM) and Liccom and therefore its workers are posted at these locations.
Workers have visited the Department of Labour for assistance as well as the Tax Office and are trying to secure an appointment with Labour Minister Emil Lee.
The workers are usually paid around the fifth of each month. When Holiday was first approached about payment in February, staffers were told they would be paid the following week. When this did not happen and workers approached him again and again, they were promised payment the following week. In March, workers were given US $300 each as a partial payment on their February salary and they have not received anything since. The situation has become grave for many of the workers.
Prosec Security company has been in operation since 2014, after a split from Blend In Security Company, which Holiday was also involved in. Many of the workers have been with the company for several years.
