Remuneration level of security guards from Samburu community working in Nairobi

Abstract

This study investigated the remuneration level of security guards from Samburu Community working in Nairobi. The study adopted, as its theoretical framework, the Interests Theory of human rights as described by Raz. In examining these issues, the study looked at the following indicators, which provided evidence for granting or non-granting of employee rights: shelter, diet and investments made by the employees; existence of job contracts, insurance cover, retirement benefit plan and health cover; membership to a trade union; promotion at work and salary increment; and the nature of equipment and training for the job. The study involved all security guards from the Samburu community working in Nairobi as the population of study and individual security guards as the unit of analysis. Five areas of the city, that is, Westlands/Kabete, Lavington/Kangemi/Waithaka/Muthaiga/Thika Road, Karen/Lang’ata, South C/South B and Embakasi, were marked out as the places from which the study sample was taken. The study adopted a survey design, and data was collected through questionnaires, which were applied to 200 security guards who had been randomly selected from 5 administrative clusters in Nairobi. The findings indicated that security guards were poorly remunerated. It recommended that the government of Kenya enforce a minimum salary of at least at the level of maximum un-taxable income and proper job contraction for security guards.