Court upholds Sh30,000 minimum wage for private security guards
National
By
Hudson Gumbihi
| Feb 25, 2025
The court has upheld the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) legal notice setting the minimum wage for guards in Kenya at Sh30,000.
The Court dismissed a petition challenging the implementation of the minimum monthly wages for security guards, paving way for the pay rise.
In a legal notice former PSRA former Director General Fazul Mahammed, had in November 2023, directed all private security firms to pay their security guards a minimum wage of Sh30,000 before statutory deductions.
But suing on behalf Private Security Industry Association (PSIA), John Kipkorir challenged the decision arguing that the move by PSRA was not supported by any public participation.
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He prayed the court to declare the authority acted arbitrarily and illegally in contravention of Article 10 and 118 of the Constitution.
According to Kipkorir, it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour to come up with minimum wages regulation, enforcement and gazettement and not the responsibility of the PSRA.
Justice Mathews Nderi Nduma of the Employment and Labour Relations Court, dismissed the petition saying it lacked merit.
“In the final analysis, the petition was abandoned by the petitioner and is struck out by the court and in any event the same lacked merit and stood to be dismissed which the court proceeds to do,” Justice Nderi ruled.
PSRA directed employers to comply with the directives warning that any employer who pays guards below the mandated basic minimum shall be liable to a fine of Sh2 million, according to the law.
Association of North Rift Security Firms immediately moved to the High Court in Eldoret to challenge the directive.
They were granted orders stopping the implementation of the legal notice by Justice Wananda Anuro on December 1.
According to the PSRA, the minimum pay should be Sh18,994 with a house allowance of Sh2,849.11 and overtime allowance of Sh8,156.81, all amounting to Sh30,000.
The statutory deductions will be National Social Security Fund (NSSF) of Sh1,080, Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) of Sh825, Pay As You Earn Sh1,229.75, and affordable house levy Sh450.
In 2022 Labour ministry set the minimum wage for night guards working in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru at Sh16,959.