Mexico. Although the entry into force of the labor reform to eliminate outsourcing was extended until September 1, some 3,500 private security companies, which are currently not auditable, are at risk of being left without the Registry as Providers of Specialized Services or Specialized Works (REPSE) in the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), because they face an overregulation impossible to comply with, said Mr. Raúl Sapién Santos, President of the National Council of Private Security (CNSP).
"It is not that the entrepreneurs of the sector do not want to comply with the regulations, but that there is an accumulation of laws on private security that are unenforceable because they are asymmetrical with each other." We have a federal law, 32 of a state nature and others of a municipal nature. This legal asymmetry generates legal problems for the sector, which translate into an increase in companies that operate outside the Law, which are commonly known as duckling companies, "said the president of the CNSP.
He added that there are currently about 6,000 private security companies that generate 1.4% of the country's GDP and employ about 500,000 elements, however, 56% of them operate illegally because they do not pay taxes or provide social security to their employees. To be part of the STPS register, these companies must demonstrate that they are up to date with their tax and social security obligations vis-à-vis the Tax Administration Service, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and the Institute of the National Fund for Workers' Housing (Infonavit); otherwise, some 250,000 private security guards could be left in limbo.
On the other hand, security companies, in addition to over-regulation, face unfair competition from auxiliary police, who are favored by their legal framework, which covers them with special regulation. On the one hand, they provide services of a public nature, being a function in charge of the State and on the other hand, they are allowed to provide private security services to individuals, who pay an economic consideration for those services, which they make available to a third party, either to take care of their facilities or to transfer values, thus benefiting the individual with the specialized service, whose service in all occasions is not part of the corporate purpose or the preponderant activity of the beneficiary.
By their nature, these police, despite providing services to individuals, are not obliged to obtain registration with the STPS as the private sector in matters of security, putting private security at a great disadvantage. To date, no authority intends to monitor, supervise or regulate their activities; either to regulate that the auxiliary police only provide services of a public nature or said police are regulated normatively under the same ordinances and requirements for the provision of private security services to individuals.
In this situation, the extension from August 1 to September 1 made by legislators is insufficient for companies to regularize, since of the estimated 4.5 million Mexicans who are subcontracted, about 3 million had not been migrated, so they run the risk of falling into unemployment. Meanwhile, according to Coparmex, 400,000 companies use the outsourcing scheme, of which, until a few days ago, 387,500 were missing to register.
Sapién Santos stressed that the main impediment that private security companies have to comply with the law lies in the overregulation and overtaxation that exists in the sector. In that regard, he welcomed the fact that recently, through a constitutional reform, Congress had been empowered to issue the General Law on Private Security.
"This Law will define the regulations to regulate the providers of this service at the national level, will mark the general guidelines for all the states of the republic and will establish the guidelines of coordination between the federation, the state and municipal governments and the service providers, so that local legislations are consistent with the Federal Law, "- Detailed.
In reference to the reforms approved in labor matters that prohibit the subcontracting of personnel, he clarified that the subcontracting of specialized services that are not part of the preponderant activity is allowed, as long as the company formalizes a written contract, indicates the number of workers who will participate and is previously registered in the REPSE.
Finally, Raúl Sapién, President of the CNSP, commented that the Federal Labor Law establishes fines of up to 4 million 481 thousand pesos for companies that operate without having such registration and the same sanction may be applicable to those who subcontract a service that is not registered in the register.
* Note provided by the National Private Security Council (CNSP).
