According to the facts shown in the study, "Private Security in Central America," done by The Arias Foundation in May 2003, in Honduras there are around 200 security companies and only 43 of them are registered at the Secretary of Security, as stipulated by law.

The same study cites that until September 2000, the 30 companies affiliated with the Association of Private Security Businesses in Honduras (APSBH) alone had some 15,000 security guards under their employment.

In focusing on the labor rights of these 15,000 workers we must not forget that behind these individuals exists whole families, including children that are directly affected being that they depend on the salary of these security guards.

Three months ago, the Association for a More Just Society (AJS) received various complaints and charges from private security guards working in the capital. The complaints given by these employees, who were very anguished because their rights were not being respected, are as follows:

· Exhausting work hours, 12 to 24 hour shifts
· No overtime pay
· Unjustified deductions in salary
· Had to pay for uniforms themselves, costs being deducted from their salary
· No remuneration of vacation time
· No payment of educational bonus
· Individuals fired without justification or legal documentation
· Not knowing who to go to for help in presenting their claims. The company did not have an office established in the capital
· Paid only portions of their salary

AJS checked into the claims that were being presented, interviewing and collecting documents from the employees to verify the charges. After investigating the case, AJS proceeded to solicit a complete inspection of the company in question, Delta Security Services, before the Secretary of Labor in La Ceiba with employees from throughout the country including State institutions: the National Electric Energy Company (NEEC), Honduran Company of Telecommunications (HONDUTEL), Secretary of Education and the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS).

The Charges Being Made:

During the visits to the different places where Delta security guards work, the discussions concerning their situation and testimonies (that they prefer to keep anonymous for fear of the repercussions) gave the guidelines that we document the labor rights violations in relation to the law laid out by the State as well as international agreements.

"I have put up with it because when one is poor he can't go from one company to another, says Antonio López, on of the security guards. He adds that the company for which he works is "number one" in violating the rights of their employees.

Antonio Pérez shares the same opinion as his co-worker López, whose charges helped to document this case for this edition of Revistazo.

Those pressing charges, with copies of their paychecks in hand from the current year as well as years past, were able to show us how their salaries were cut and in all of them it is obvious that the money received does not match up to the amount that they were contracted for.

While Pérez talks about the 24 hour consecutive work shifts, López assures us that he likes his job and has given many years to Delta Security Services put that he is not willing to continue working without being paid his complete salary, paid overtime, vacation time and Christmas bonus.

Paradoxically, security work in Honduras is not well-monitored or protected by authorities from the Secretary of Labor in relation to the concerns raised by the workers. Employees from security companies, including women, are generally poor, having come from the countryside to the city in search of better living conditions.

On arriving at their tables where they control who enters the building or when entering gates and parking lots where they monitor people's comings and goings in order to protect the goods and security of those in the stores of businesses where they work, their emaciated faces should call us to reflect on their situation.

The State of Honduras through the National Congress approved the Code of Labor on May 19, 1959 as one of the great victories of the great banana strike in 1954. In this law the rights and duties are shown for both the owner and worker, as well as the control that still today the Secretary of Labor must exercise in order that this code be respected by both parties.
The work days last between 12 and 24 hours, the Christmas bonus, benefits and vacation time are not completely paid for as agreed upon nor compensation given of any kind. The Code of Labor, a norm that appears valid and just lacks all that is important in this particular situation.

The official books from Inspections of Labor as well as from the labor courts are full of complaints and charges made against security companies, presented by State Prosecutors from the Secretary of Labor and others through private attorneys, lack evidence needed to conclude the process of making claims against these companies being that it has been impossible to summon owners from this sector.

According to that which is established in the Code of Labor, company owners are obligated to pay their workers what is stipulated by law, but according to testimonies collected in the courts, the owners of Delta will not present themselves nor will they answer any summons that the court sends them. One of the judges said that they have taken all measures to make contact with the companies but have not been able to achieve this goal.

"A few days ago the bosses came to Tegucigalpa with notes of renunciation for us to sign, whoever didn't sign it was made to leave," says one of the security guards that prefers to have his identity omitted due to the possibilities of repercussions. "We had to sign it," he said sadly.
"If anyone complains they threaten to fire him. If someone goes to the Ministry of Labor with their complaint, nobody listens," said López while taking out of his backpack a pack of paycheck stubs showing incomplete payments of his salary. He continued saying, "they say that the Ministry (the Secretary of Labor), works with them. One time I went and one of the officials there met with one of the Delta bosses and within a few minutes it was all over. Nothing happened, only the time that I lost," he lamented.

AJS presents action to the State of Rights

The situation of defenselessness experienced by the security guards impelled AJS to get involved with the case, headed by Attorney Eda Velásquez who is part of their legal team. Velásquez states that, "the State has the responsibility of protecting the rights of workers and the Secretary of Labor and Social Prevision is one of the entities called to look after this, to ensure that legal dispositions are dealt with and to check into the conditions in which these employees are made to work."

She went on to inform us that her organization has received many complaints from security guards consisting mainly of those who work for Delta Security Services who denied them many of their labor rights without having received a response from the Secretary of Labor to improve their work relations.

Velásquez says that AJS solicited the General Inspector of Labor to do a complete investigation into Delta Security Services in order to confirm the conditions in which their employees are working in and to verify the existence of irregularities of this work relationship.

"They are the authorities. They can call upon the police if an owner resists inspection," says Velásquez while assisting one of the security guards on his case, who with a depleted look on his face told her how the company had not respected his labor rights.

What is going on in the Secretary of Labor?

At the beginning of investigation the Revistazo.com team visited Attorney's office of Labor and there one of the attorneys expressed told us that, "we have the impossible job of summoning them; they hide from justice," pointing to the registration book where many cases presented to the Secretary of Labor of various ex-employees are listed.

According to union workers, many problems exist within the Secretary of Labor that help to facilitate labor rights violations of workers, "the ministry believes what company owners say without investigating if the listed salaries is actually what they are paying their workers."

"This is not old, this is recent. It is demonstrated in factory cases meaning that there is not a position that exists within the Secretary of Labor in defense of justice in order that the institution be seen as a literal mediator, the dead letter of the Law. But this reconciliation can only happen if justice gets involved. If not, what are we doing here?," say the workers.

Delta rectifies

In response to the legal actions taken by AJS and the visits that the delegates from this organization and from Revistazo.com made to the company headquarters, owner Richard Swasey, assert that his company knows nothing about the situation and that he had confidence that his intermediary leaders and legal representatives would attend to any claims made by the company, for which, according to Swasey, a regional office is not needed. Despite all this he seemed concerned by the multiple complaints made against the company, promising that he would rectify the errors and resolve the problems.

Revistazo.com will publish in following editions if in fact, the company put into effect this agreement in favor of the security guards. Nevertheless, in the hands of the Secretary of Labor lies the resolution to this problematic labor issue that security guards in Honduras are currently faced with, in which they must act.

AJS Gets Delta To Sign Act of Commitment

On the 3rd of November, in the midst of claims being made against Delta within a tense environment, an agreement was made between the two conflicting parties. Delta asked to meet with AJS to discuss the situation. Delta's general managers Mario Castro, Roberto Fúnez and their legal representative Jacabo Cáliz all showed up for the meeting. AJS raised the point that if an agreement was to be made, it needed to be made in front of the Secretary of Labor and the State who are in charge of overseeing that the labor rights of workers in Honduras are respected. The delegates from Delta promised to give an answer to this request after speaking with the highest authorities from the company.

A few days later, AJS received at positive response to their request. The agreement was signed at the Office of Labor Inspections in the presence of inspectors Denni Arturo Carranza and José Ramón Barralaga, who were put in charge of the investigation concerning Delta Security.

Mario Castro served as the representative of Delta while AJS lawyer Eda Velásquez served as legal representative for the workers. Velásquez presented Castro with the inspection requests for Delta. Castro responded by saying that his company had arrived at the conclusion that it would be best for them to comply with the Law.

The central points of the agreement made with Delta are as follows: that Delta will give back the money that the employees paid for the uniforms whenever an he or she leaves the company or is fired, Delta will put into effect labor rights for their employees (vacation time, overtime, full payment of salary, etc.), and the company will give employees their education voucher. Delta has committed to allow AJS to evaluate them every three months in order to assure that advances are being made according to what was agreed upon.

Revistazo.com will publish in the following editions whether or not Delta Security Systems complies to the agreement they made to AJS and their security staff. However, it is now in the hands of the Secretary of Labor to resolve this problematic labor rights situation that security guards throughout Honduras are being faced with.