Kildare's Manguard Plus welcomes long-awaited industry pay rise as Minister signs ERO

The announcement that the long-awaited Employment Regulation Order (ERO) for the Security Industry is to be finally signed, increasing minimum pay for professionals in the security industry, has been warmly welcomed by industry leader and Kildare business, Manguard Plus.

The Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Emer Higgins has confirmed that she plans to sign a new ERO on the July 1, which will see hourly rates rise from €12.90 to €14.50.

CEO of Manguard Plus, Sean Hall said, “We have been to the fore of consistently calling for this ERO to be enacted. We have had protracted consultations with our very valued clients, and they appreciate our consistent and exacting standards and realise and acknowledge that highly trained, professional security personnel are key to the provision of a top class service.

“Security personnel work long and tiring hours in very responsible positions where they are required to be responsive to all sorts of incidents and situations. It’s a challenging career and as such we passionately believe that security officers should be renumerated accordingly.

“Paying somebody his or her due is all about fairness and recognition first and foremost and secondly, it’s about setting an industry standard. If the security industry is serious about attracting and retaining the best people who are diligent, hardworking and good representatives for the sector, we have to pay them accordingly. At Manguard Plus we are all about providing the best service to our clients and this can only be provided by the best people. Our colleagues go about their roles in a thorough and conscientious manner, and they richly deserve renumeration for this. I believe the industry has some way to go still in rates of pay for staff, but this is definitely a step in the right direction."