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30 May 2023

Members
Association of Certified Security Agencies

Notice is hereby served that ACSA’s next 24th Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Tuesday, 27 June 2023 at 12.00noon at PARKROYAL HOTEL on 181 Kitchener Road, Room Emerald 2, Level 3,Singapore 208533.

The agenda for the meeting as follows shall be as follows:
Registration will starts at 11.30 am.

AGENDA

1. Welcome and apologies;
2. To read and confirm the minutes of the AGM held on 23rd June 2022 (enclosed);
3. To read and confirm the Annual Report from 1 June 2022 to 30 April 2023
   (enclosed);
4. To read and approve the Annual Statement of Accounts for the period of 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 (enclosed);
5. To approve the Annual Budget from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 (enclosed);
6. To appoint an external auditor for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024;
7. Any Other matters. Notice must be served to the Honorary Secretary at least seven (7) days, prior to the AGM
8. 
   For and on behalf of
   The Executive Committee 2022/2024

Dear ACSA Valued Members,

ACSA is pleased to announce our  ACSA Education Bursary Award application is open now.

We have attached herewith the application form and the checklist for your officers.

Please disseminate the information to them and there is a portion the HR Manager needs to authorise.

Points to take note:

Closing dates is 17 Feb 2023 – 5pm. Any applications that comes after the closing date will not be accepted.

NOTE : This year the application is limited to 30 applicants. First come first serve.

Also ensure all the documents are filled accordingly with the supporting documents attached and mail to Secretariat at ACSA Office address: 33 Sam Leong Road, Singapore 207923 or you can pass personally to us.

Thank you and best regards.

Robert Wiener,
Chairman
ACSA Education Award Committee

Downloads

Download: ACSA Educational Awards Application Form

Download: Application Form Checklist

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

Dear valued members,

We have been weathering the Covid 19 (C19) for the past two years. C19 has created a new landscape for all industries and the way of life for all people. It’s an unfamiliar environment for all.

Amidst the variety of changes that most of us have embraced with time. This is a clear demonstration of the high degree of resilience, resolve and agility displayed by all of us.

The future looks bleak in the coming years. Against this backdrop, our government has taken bold steps to move towards normalcy gradually. The route will be undulating and challenging for us to journey.

The posture of the security industry appears to be stable. However, we are confronted with an acute manpower crunch and a bargain-hunting spree by many of our service buyers. This has mounted great stress on security agencies owners. 

As we usher in the Lunar New Year of Tiger, it is hoped that the inclement outlook will improve to enjoy better times ahead. 

The Tiger is a symbol of courage, confidence, energy and passion. It is my firm belief that all of us will be bestowed with the qualities above coupled with determination and sound leadership to build strong grounds to continue progressing and fronting the security industry.

Here’s wishing all those celebrating the Lunar New Year a joyous and prosperous year of the Tiger. To the rest, enjoy the holidays.

John Vijayan Vasavan 
President 
ACSA

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

30 December 2021

ACSA PRESIDENT ‘s NEW YEAR 2022 MESSAGE

Dear ACSA’s Valued Members,

In a blink of an eye, 2021 is drawing to a close. It was a challenging
year for all, presenting an unprecedented and unpredictable landscape
for the security industry.

I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to each and every
one of you for your tenacity and high degree of resilience; coping with
the new work environment, and keeping up with the changing demands in
the wake of the global pandemic.

The varying waves of COVID 19 has literally transformed the work
modality for many and inadvertently exposed our security officers who
are at a higher risk of contracting COVID 19. This has hurt our
deployment plan when our officers were infected as well.

The manpower crunch, coupled with our foreign employees returning home
to be reunited with their family, had triggered business owners to
re-think of their human resource strategies to be aligned with the new
normal.

It’s certainly a tumultuous task for all of you, however I am heartened
to learn that you were able to rise up to the occasion to meet your
contractual obligations with slight hiccups.

Some of you have cleverly switched to an outcome based contracting model
(OBC). The adoption of the OBC will see the complementary role of
machines and our scarce manpower, principled by best sourcing practices.
I understand that many of you are reaping good results through the
adoption of the OBC.

Since May 2021, most, if not all government agencies, have converted to
the OBC. In the private sectors, where the buyers are better informed, I
envisage more buyers will be subscribing to the OBC. Studies have
suggested that OBC adopters have yielded desirable outcomes for the
service buyers and providers. Our security officers have also shared
that their work environment has seen a marked improvement and shaping up
to be more conducive. This is a clear testament that OBC is here to
stay. It will be a viable and most sought-after option.

The year also saw the approval by our government of the recommendations
proposed by the Security Tripartite Cluster (STC). The main focus of the
STC was to uplift the quality of life of our security officers, who
based on their current salaries, were classified as Low Wages Workers
(LWW). The STC’s recommendations bordered along the line of better
remuneration packages, improved work conditions and environment, as well
as up-skilling our officers to be better poised to improve performance
and increased productivity. This is all done with the hope that this
will translate to better security outcomes for our officers to reap the
gains.

ACSA, on her part, launched the Educational Awards to help the children
of our officers. The awards aim to provide some form of monetary support
for the needy officers’ families as they continue to pave the journey
for their children to pursue their educational voyages and realise their
dreams.

Forty children of our officers will be receiving the book prizes ranging
from $200 to $600 at a presentation ceremony on 4 January 2022.

The ACSA Educational Awards were made possible with the magnanimous
generosity of our members, partners and well-meaning donors. We look
forward to their continued contributions as we have established the ACSA
Educational Award for future educational awards as well.

The Singapore government has announced and formalised its plan to steer
towards living with COVID 19. The plans are underway to declare COVID 19
as an endemic as we move towards the new normal.

With this as a background, ACSA is desirous of celebrating its silver
jubilee with a slew of activities. In 1997, ACSA was established and
will turn 25 in 2022. It will be apt to mark the anniversary with a
series of events. Plans are being finalised and will be shared in due
course.

The celebratory plans will see an introduction of a few FIRST time
activities with greater emphasis placed on engaging our security officer
– a bottom up approach towards embracing the changes posed to the
security industry. Our regular events will be re-branded to achieve
greater impact for the industry as we drive towards digitalisation and
transformation.

We are fervently hoping to learn from the other international
associations, as we strive towards improving our security services for
our nation.

I will be sharing our anniversary plans in a separate communique in due
course.

Here’s wishing one and all a smashing 2022 and be bestowed with all the
blessings for the year ahead.

Happy 25th Anniversary to all our ACSA members!

Yours sincerely,

John Vijayan Vasavan, PBM
President
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