Security guards, employers protest new licence regulation outside Government House
HUNDREDS of security guards and their employers gathered outside the Government House Gate 5 on Monday, calling for help as they were affected by the Security Business Act B.E. 2558 (2015) that came into full effect from on Monday.
The new law aims to regulate and raise the standard of security service companies and security guards to ensure increased public safety. It requires a security guard to be a Thai national, age over 18, not addicted to alcohol or drugs and never convicted of a sex charge. Guards much also obtain a licence to work, which will be valid for three years and extendable after an assessment of their past performance.
The demonstrators held protest signs that declared many of them would be out of work under the new law, as they had not yet been able to obtain work licences.
If the guards work without meeting the requirements, they could face a charge of serving as a security guard without permission, punishable by up to three months in jail and/or a maximum Bt5,000 in fine. Their employers could face the charge of hiring unlicensed guards, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a maximum Bt10,000 fine.
Under this law, the owners of security-guard businesses are required to obtain a renewable operating licence valid for four years, or face a maximum of one year in jail and/or a maximum Bt20,000 fine.