Low Pay, Long Hours of Work Define Life of Pvt Security Guards

HYDERABAD: For G. Naveen Kumar, a security guard in Hyderabad, the job has remained largely unchanged over 14 years. “I work wherever I am posted,” he said. A reliever who moves across locations in the city, Kumar said his annual salary went up between `1,200 and `1,500. “The work is difficult, but so far nothing has happened,” he added.

He is not alone. Similar work conditions are common across Telangana’s private security sector, where guards often work long hours with limited wage growth.

Krishna Nayak, manager with a private security agency, said that while duty hours varied by location, shifts could go up to 12 hours depending on deployment requirements. He said guards underwent training not only in access control but also in discipline, grooming, fire safety and vigilance.

“They are trained to protect people, property and information,” he said, explaining that guards were expected to maintain conduct standards, manage interactions and remain alert at all times. Nayak added that weekly offs were generally given on Sundays, but said guards should ideally be given leave on festival days as well.

At the organisational level, agency heads pointed to structural challenges affecting both guards and employers. K.V.N. Rao, chairman of Lakshmi Pyramid Security Force Pvt. Ltd, said minimum wages for security guards in Telangana remained relatively lower than those in several other states. Manpower shortages were becoming increasingly common.

Rao said agencies were often forced to ensure timely payment of wages even when clients delayed payments for months. “Sometimes we have to take loans to pay guards on time. Many agencies have shut down because it is not sustainable,” he said. According to him, agencies supplying guards to hospitals, hotels, schools and industrial units faced mounting pressure to balance rules with rising operational costs.

Industry representatives have been seeking revision of minimum wages and timely payments, arguing that without such measures, retaining trained guards would remain difficult. For guards like Kumar, however, the profession continues much as it has for years long hours, modest increments and a monotonous routine.