THE IMPACT OF NON-PAYMENT OF SALARIES ON THE JOB PERFORMANCE OF NON-ACADEMIC STAFF OF COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, IKERE EKITI
CHAPTERE ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Non-Academic staff members are professional employees who contribute very significantly to the success of higher institution of learning. One of the key requirements for any successful organisation is that its key members and employees see themselves as being in the same family, group or team. Of course academics are usually the front line staff who provide the teaching and research functions that represent the university’s core business, and all staff need to recognise that and work accordingly to facilitate this function. But non-academic staffs are all part of the collegiate group, and nobody should be allowed to look down on people in other parts of the organisation.
Public service workers in more than half of Nigeria’s 36 states are being owed salaries of between three and eight months by their governments. That Federal Government workers are not immune to the harrowing ordeal of unpaid salaries particularly towards the close of last year and early in the year makes the situation more tragic. Of course, to continually demand workers’ loyalty by the governments in default is antithetic to any claims of good governance and in states where they have so acted, the workers are justified to go on strike. Nothing at best also advertised the insensitivity of affected governors (and, without shame, the political parties) to the plight of their people as they hit the campaign trail early in the year to solicit for votes to keep them in power. No shame, no compunction. It is a fact too that many of the states are contending with bloated workforces they either inherited, or created for political patronages but cannot cater for. The appointments into those offices at whatever level lack honesty of purpose. The governors should, however, be creative enough to improve on their revenue drive to honour their commitments. It is also on record that many of the government at all levels hardly present themselves as models of good governance with lifestyles that are flamboyant or too extravagant for comfort.
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. Salary can also be viewed as the cost of acquiring and retaining human resources for running operations and is then termed personnel expense or salary expense. In accounting, salaries are recorded in payroll accounts. Salary is a fixed amount of money or compensation paid to an employee by an employer in return for work performed. Salary is commonly paid in fixed intervals, for example, monthly payments of one-twelfth of the annual salary. Salary is typically determined by comparing market pay rates for people performing similar work in similar industries in the same region. Salary is also determined by leveling the pay rates and salary ranges established by an individual employer. Salary is also affected by the number of people available to perform the specific job in the employer’s employment locale.
The multiplier effect of earned but unpaid salaries is real. The worker suffers, the immediate family and dependants suffer, society is worse off for harbouring stress-filled human beings who are not proud to call themselves citizens and lifespan is gradually shortened. In the face of all of these, the so-called leaders live in the clouds, do little to redress the hopelessness and, at the same time, glory in their cluelessness on governance.
As in many developing countries, evidence suggested that the purchasing power of civil servants in general and of academic staff in higher institution in particular has been eroded over time. According to Reis (2009) salaries of academic staff are defined by law and these salaries have grown at rates lower than inflation. The erosion of salaries’ has greatly influenced purchasing power of academic staff and eventually becomes a source of dissatisfaction and of loss of motivation, leading to reduced productivity, loss of service quality, deterioration of the health of the academic staff and low efficiency in terms of instruction delivery.
Utuka (2001) echoing what has been eluded that human capital is an important input and forms the basis for wealth creation. It is the active agent of production who accumulate capital, exploit natural resources, build and develop social, political and economic organizations, and plan national development programmes. Countries must therefore develop the skills and knowledge of their people and utilize them effectively in order for the nation to develop. This brings to the fore the importance of education. Research evidence indicates that, for human capital to spawn perceptible impact on economic development, a nation needs to have a minimum critical mass of at least 70 percent or more literate population.
At the core of a nation’s human capital formation is the teacher. Although modern infrastructural facilities are essential in educational institutions, it is largely the work of the teacher that determines the degree of success or failure in the institution’s effort to contribute towards the achievement of national educational development goals.
The relevance of salaries to non-academic staff in terms of job satisfaction and performance are therefore very serious to the long-term growth, development and production of quality service in higher institution of learning.
Statement of the Problem
It has been observed by the researcher that many workforce of Nigeria depend solely on the salary being paid to them by the government and this play a significant role, as a major source of revenue to the market women, artisans and other individuals who are not civil servants. At this time when Nigeria education system is going through the hard time of surviving and that there is need for people reinforcing the man power needed, having the issue like unpaid salaries has worsen the situation. Knowing that no nation can grow beyond the standard of the teacher they have, but no admin staff or bursary staff who have months of unpaid salaries will be able to give his/her best in the classroom.
When the non-academic staffs are not well motivated because of the impeding salaries then the administrative part of tertiary institutions and future of Nigeria is in jeopardy. When staff cannot derive job satisfaction from the work they do due to non- payment of salaries, then the institution and educational system of the school will have to pay for it. A higher and consistent salaries means a higher purchasing power since individual can spend based on what he/she is having. Thus, the researcher investigates the impact of non-payment of salaries on the job performance of non-academic staff of College of Education, Ikere Ekiti.
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