LAHORE, Nov 5: The Pakistan Labour Party has stressed the need for removing causes of growing frustration among private security guards to remove threat to the lives of employers.

Speaking at the Lahore Press Club on Sunday, Labour Party Secretary-General Farooq Tariq and psychologist Prof Maqbul Ahmed Sabri said there was frustration among security guards because they were being paid only four to five thousand rupees a month for working 12 hours a day without any weekly holiday.

Most of them had to remain on duty even on Eid and other national holidays without payment of overtime. The situation, they said, was very dangerous because the guards were usually armed and could cause incidents like the recent killings of Seth Ayaz Abid and others and a medical store owner in the city.

They said the guards were also maltreated by their employers. The security agencies often employed illiterate and untrained persons as guards to pay them lower salaries. The guards were provided weapons without any training and sent on duty. Many security agencies got signatures of the guards on blank papers and showed them as having resigned from service in the event of mishaps.

They said besides registering security agencies the government should also regulate their affairs. They should be barred from employing untrained persons as guards and reasonable minimum wages should be notified for them. The guards should be entitled to facilities like social security, old-age benefits and adequate compensation in the event of sustaining injuries or losing their lives.