As RWAs seek funds to boost security, guards flag job concerns
Residents' Welfare Associations in India are seeking government funding to upgrade security infrastructure, including better training and equipment for guards. Security personnel, however, report that these improvements do not address their core concerns regarding job instability and poor working conditions.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing tension between residential security demands and the precarious labor conditions of the private security workforce in urban India.
As Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) push for increased funding to strengthen security infrastructure in residential societies, security guards say issues of job stability, training, and working conditions remain unaddressed.
Last month, United Residents Joint Action (URJA), a body representing around 2,500 RWAs in the city, wrote to the Centre seeking ₹2,000 crore from the ₹1 lakh crore Urban Bodies Fund to enhance security infrastructure. The proposal includes training of guards, better wages, installation of CCTV cameras, control rooms, emergency lighting, and other equipment.
“The security guards employed by RWAs are not trained enough to deal with emergency situations. They are simply placed with a uniform and some gadgets and are not equipped to handle crises,” said Atul Goyal, president of URJA.
On the ground, guards say their work is demanding, often without adequate support. Guards are typically paid a monthly salary of ₹20,000 to ₹25,000.
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