All posts by : Admin Acsa

29 Oct 2025

ACSA PRESIDENT’s 2025 MESSAGE

Please refer to the information provided in the document below.

5 Feb 2022

Dear Service Buyers,

The Association of Certified Security Agencies (ACSA) would like to wish all of you a Blessed and Prosperous Year of the Water Tiger!

It’s our fervent hope and trust that this message finds you and your team well.

MOH figures have shown a marked increase in the number of Covid 19 cases in the past weeks. This is expected to escalate further in the coming days.

In most situations, those infected with Covid 19 are not required to return to their workplaces so as not to affect fellow colleagues who may come into contact with them. Most employers have acknowledged the results of the ART. No formal Medical Certificates are required in such situations.

Another group of employees are those who have to care for their aged or incapacitated kin whilst they themselves are recuperating from Covid 19.

Based on the foregoing situations, our security officers hired by our members are required to stay away from their work location to either recuperate or attend to their kin.

Our Security Agencies have structured Business Continuity Plans (BCP) to ensure minimal disruptions to their deployment strategies. However, our security agencies are overwhelmed by the flaring number of Covid 19 cases, which are not within the control of the Security Agencies.

These unprecedented circumstances have unfortunately rendered some of our Security Agencies not being able to fulfil their contractual obligations.

From what we understand, our Security Agencies have endeavoured to provide sufficient manpower to avoid compromising the security outcomes. This may not always be possible due to the trying and pressing circumstances.

We seek the indulgence of our Service Buyers like you or your appointed Managing Agents to exercise your unfettered discretion and tamper the contractual agreements with compassion as we journey through these tumultuous times. We seek your indulgence to hold conversations with our members and provide waiver of such conditions to create a viable working relationship.

We humbly request your indiscretion as we wade through the rough and treacherous journey affected by these tough medical inclement conditions.

Yours sincerely

John Vijayan Vasavan
President
Association of Certified Security Agencies

ACSA is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

As part of the silver jubilee celebrations, ACSA has decided to waive the entrance fees of $500 for all new members. New members need to pay only the annual fees of $400 for Ordinary members and $300 for Associate members.

If you know of any security agencies or vendors who are keen to be part of a premier security association ACSA, they can download the application from our website www.ACSA.sg or email secretariat@acsa.sg to request for the membership form.

Our membership drive ends on 31 Dec 2022.

Please share with your associates and contacts.

Yours faithfully,

A. S . Nair
Chair
Membership Standing Committee
ACSA

2021 was yet another tumultuous year for all in Singapore and globally as well. The Covid-19 pandemic continued to cast uncertainties and create chaos, as we witness and experience the emergence of new clusters, infecting many with different varieties of these new variants which are even more dangerous than the earlier variants detected.

The above triggered many unprecedented challenges; one of which being the emergence of new types of work environment and culture. The security industry saw drastic changes to their scope of work. At this juncture, I would like to compliment all our Security   Agencies, who had withstood the test of time and embraced the changes graciously, by displaying a high degree of tolerance and resilience. This was certainly not an easy feat to begin with.

Several unexpected situations silently mushroomed during these unpredictable times. I would like to single out a couple of them, which had or will have a greater impact on the private security industry-at-large.

One of the major concerns that plagued our industry was the shortage of manpower. This came about as our foreign talents from Malaysia returned home to be with their loved ones and opted not to return to Singapore. 

The situation was further aggravated when applications for new employees were not forthcoming or took a much longer time to process. This manpower crunch crippled many of our agencies’ manpower requirements. 

Our members resorted to recruiting those who become available; such as those who lost their jobs, or who were adversely affected by the pandemic. 

Others sought to adopt the Outcome Based Contracts (OBC). Today, all government-linked projects have adopted the OBC. Favourable feedback were received from the government procurement offices as well. 

We are also seeing an increase in the number of non-governmental entities opting for the OBC. There is a need for our private sector service buyers to seize the opportunity to adopt the OBC; to achieve better security outcomes between man and machine.

I acknowledge that there are teething problems at this point of time, some of which requires some form of ratifications as we go along.

The government has signalled that the low-wage employees should be given a reasonable remuneration package, coupled with work-life balance. 

The security industry is one of the sectors that is classified as having low-wage employees. The proposed changes hopes to improve the well-being of our low-wage employees; be a catalyst to attract more people to step into the private security industry, particularly the younger ones. 

The workgroup working on the salary revision for the security industry has in-principle agreed that the wage revision for the security officers is in order.

Discussions are underway, taking into considerations the viewpoints of the various stakeholders. It is with fervent hope that these revisions will also trigger a wider transformation within the industry. These workgroup have taken cognisance of the pandemic; the need to address the current contractual obligations, as well as the country’s economic climate.

ACSA has proactively decided to address the crisis faced by our Security Officers and their immediate family members. We have decided to inaugurate the ACSA Educational Awards in November/December this year. It is our fervent hope that these awards will not only give recognition to our deserving officers and their family members, but also provide them additional financial support, as they continue to pursue their educational journey. We have sent personalised emails to all our members and donations are flowing in. The details of the awards are currently being finalised and will be announced soon. 

ACSA Executive Committee takes this opportunity to wish our fellow Singaporeans a happy and safe National Day 2021. We would also like to extend our heartfelt tribute to all our security officers for continuing to keep our nation safe and secured, despite the uncertainties.

Merdeka!

John Vijayan Vasavan, PBM

President 

ACSA

ACSA in partnership with USE and Conference and Events Management Singapore (CEMS) will be organizing the above on Friday, 26 November 2021 at the Marina Bay Convention Centre, Singapore.

Look out for registration details in your emails.

The above will be held in November / early December 2021.

The awards are opened to Security Officers employed by ACSA members, as well as children of our Member employees.

The committee is headed by the Immediate Past President. Details will be shared in August/September 2021.