ANUSHA SELVAMANI
Constant extra work, little time with family and a lack of career progression were reasons that convinced Mr Kumaran Nagalingam to leave his job as a security officer at Changi Airport after 16 years.
The 42-year-old had joined the industry thinking it would provide a secure job, but was left frustrated by the low salary he was making.
His responsibilities included screening passengers’ luggage, managing a team of security officers and reporting incidents.
“There were days when I worked 12 hours and then continued the next day’s shift without any rest. I had no time with my family,” said Mr Kumaran, a father of three.
A decade into the job, he realised his prospects in the job were not promising. “It felt pointless at the end of the day as I wasn’t getting the right pay as well,” he said.
When both his parents fell ill to cancer, Mr Kumaran, their only child, decided to leave the job. He is now a Gojek driver. “I felt I wouldn’t be able to take care of my parents with this job. My whole family is relying on me,” he said.
According to a survey by the Union of Security Employees, many security officers are looking to leave their jobs owing to low expectations of salary increases and promotions.
In the survey, done as part of a study on the sector in collaboration with the Singapore University of Social Sciences, 66.6 per cent of the 1,002 security officers interviewed said they “strongly agreed” when asked if they “might look for a new job”.
About four in 10 said they continue to see “various forms of abuse at work”. Most of this was verbal, with much of the abuse coming from members of the public.
The findings also revealed that the welfare of private security officers continue to be of concern, particularly in the areas of mental well-being.
Senior security supervisor Madhavaraj, who works at four commercial buildings on a rotational basis, often gets mocked by people who call him a “watchman”.
But that has not dampened the spirit of the 57-year-old, who has been in the security line for 18 years.
“It’s not as easy as what many may think,” said Mr Madhavaraj, who works 12-hour shifts and is on duty on public holidays, including Deepavali.
“Apart from staying vigilant, I need to ensure that everything in the building stays proper. It’s not just about safeguarding a place. There are so many technical issues related to security; we need to be tech-savvy too.
“There’s no such thing as an easy job; every job has its own level of stress. It depends on how well you manage your workload.”
For Ms Reena Raman, however, her job as a senior flight superviser at Changi Airport is everything she hoped it to be.
Initially, she screened passengers’ luggage, but now the 34-year-old supervises more than 100 security officers.
“Working with passengers is no doubt difficult. They will hurl vulgarities when we ask them to abide by the rules,” she said. “But I like my job as I love seeing the different faces of passengers every day.”
Ms Reena, who hails from Skudai in Johor, travels between Singapore and Malaysia daily.
“It’s tiring to work 12 hours and travel back to Malaysia,” she said. “But that will not stop me from continuing with this job. I love the airport environment and my boss makes sure I get timely breaks.”
