Security guards have been striking in the heart of Bolton after enduring threats and abuse for often “less than minimum wage.” Members of the GMB union gathered at the job centre on Blackhorse Street this week to join action alongside their colleagues across the country. They say that they have endured hard conditions while working for private security firm G4S, receiving only meagre pay in return.
Union rep Kamran Saba said: “We’ve had offers but they’ve only ever been unreasonable. “This current strike is about pay in the years going back to 2022/23, that’s how far behind they are!” Bolton security guards have joined their colleagues all over the country on strike (Image: Newsquest) Turning to the work he and his colleagues do, Mr Saba said that they had often had to endure hostility and even abuse from members of the public. He said: “I’ve had someone spit at me, this same gentleman has also pushed me and swears at me on a regular basis.
“We’ve all had customers who have treated us in this way.” They have been joined by around 1,400 security guards at job centres all across the country in anger at pay rates that the GMB union says means 90 per cent of them are paid minimum wage. But Mr Saba’s Bolton colleague Mudqaday Iqbal, an area security officer, said that in practice pay could end up even lower than this.
He said that he often had to cover for colleagues in other job centres further afield meaning that travel time and costs drove his take h.
