The body of another murdered security guard was found hanging from a tree in Springs on Monday, Gauteng police said.
”He was found hanging from a tree, he had a wound possibly caused by a sharp object on his head and his legs had been tied up,” Superintendent Andy Pieke said.
The 31-year-old man, whose name was not released, worked the night shift at the Grootvlei mine in Payneville. When he did not return home as usual, a colleague walked the route that he would normally have taken after his shift, and found his body.
On Sunday, commuters forced two security guards off a train in Acaciaboom, Pretoria, after the pair allegedly robbed them.
Pretoria police spokesperson Inspector Paul Ramaloko said the two had allegedly assaulted people on the train and held people at gunpoint to rob them. Commuters overpowered them and they jumped off the moving train to escape, said Ramaloko.
They were found by police and were allegedly in possession of two firearms and a number of cellphones. They face armed-robbery charges initially. It is not known if they were on strike or are working guards.
Number 58
According to one source, the death of the Springs guard would be the 58th since the strike started on March 23.
Kevin Derrick, acting chairperson of the Private Security-Industry Provident Fund, said that in anticipation of claims to the fund, which provides death benefits to the families of guards, he had set about monitoring media reports on the strike.
He took cuttings from The Star, The Sun, The Citizen, the Mercury and the Daily News, the Pretoria News, Beeld, the Sunday Tribune, the Cape Times and the Argus.
He verified and cross-referenced the information contained in the articles, noting injuries, damages and deaths, and telephoned security companies to confirm information.
Derrick said employers must contribute to the fund, which has 195 000 members out of 236 000 guards registered with the Private Security-Industry Regulatory Authority.
Some smaller companies have exemptions but the dependants of a deceased guard are still entitled to make a claim, even if his employer did not contribute to the fund.
He will continue to verify the information and do further checks with the fund to come to a final figure. The information will also be shared with the South African Police Service.
He added that the security industry is also considering whether to establish another separate fund to help the guards’ next of kin.
”It’s basically part of our social responsibility. They have been murdered because they wanted to come to work. They were murdered in support of customers they care about and provided a service to.”
He said that about 92% of the guards were not on strike.
The guards who have died have been thrown from trains, shot or subjected to severe physical attacks.
The Democratic Alliance said it has submitted a private member’s Bill to Parliament, aimed at holding trade unions civilly liable for damage or loss suffered as a direct result of union members’ strike-related activities.
Talks continue
Meanwhile, representatives of striking security guards and industry employers were meeting at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Monday afternoon in the latest efforts to end the pay dispute.
The South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union and the Transport and Allied Workers’ Union of South Africa set an 11% increase as their goal this year against the 8,3% average guards from other unions agreed on, and have been on strike since March 23.
So far, meetings at the CCMA have seen the pay offer rise to a three-year deal with a 9,25% pay hike in the first year, 7,25% in the second year and 7% in the third year. — Sapa