Review the structure of government to avert strikes

Most employee work stoppages the world over, arise from perceptions of inequity in compensation by their employers.

In Kenya, the frequent strikes by various categories of government workers are obviously driven by this perception. Thus,  teachers are of the view that they are both inadequately and inequitably rewarded compared to other colleagues in government. Nurses, doctors, lecturers and police are of the same view.

It follows, therefore, that, unless and until we address the matter of perceptions of inequity among government workers, we are not likely to see the end of industrial unrest soon.

It was John Stacy Adams, way back in 1963, who tried to explain this phenomenon when he developed what generally came to be known as the Equity theory. The theory basically provides that employees will assess their inputs and outcomes and judge fairness by comparing them to the inputs and outcomes of comparison others.

In this conception, inputs comprise anything that the individual employee brings to his or her job and may include: knowledge, skills, and abilities. It also comprises intangibles such as experience, seniority, responsibility, and effort required by the job. Outcomes, on the other hand, are those rewards or compensation that accrue to the individual as a result of their inputs, and will generally include: basic pay, special allowances, and benefits. Intangibles such as status, recognition, and other intrinsic rewards are also often considered.

What is critical to note is that feelings of inequity are often born out of perceptions and, in most cases, have nothing to do with reality. A person may leave a job earning Sh20,000 and secure another with a new salary of Sh100,000. Their joy will be full only as long as they are not aware that there are others in similar positions earning Sh150,000. As soon as they make that discovery, they will feel dissatisfied with their new salary. Any argument that they are now earning five times their previous salary will not suffice. That is why though some of the arguments proffered by the government in response to workers’ strikes have made logical sense, they have been totally inadequate in dealing with the perceptions troubling the employees.

The other critical factor worthy of note is that feelings of unfairness will result in inequity tension that could have serious impact on motivation. The fulfillment of all other needs notwithstanding, individuals will not feel motivated to perform their tasks as long as they have feelings of unfairness. That is why, though arm-twisting gimmicks in dealing with inequity complaints may secure temporary work performance, it will not extract the best out of employees. Instead, it reduces staff to slaves or animals who can only perform under strict supervision, because they lack the personal drive to excel. Hence, to reduce this dissonance, it is the task of the leader or employer to deal with inequity tension in ways that leave the staff well motivated.

In Kenya, it is an acknowledged fact that compensation disparity is rife within the current structure of government. With the advent of the new Constitution, there are myriads of commissions and constitutional offices whose holders enjoy super salaries and allowances. Whereas the rationale may have been noble — to attract the best possible talent into these offices, and to stem the temptation to corruption — it has had the side effect of creating serious perceptions of unfairness among government employees.
Additionally, there have been the antics of politicians that have seen them end up with exorbitant salaries and allowances. The result is a wage bill that threatens to shut down government. This has seen the government resort to all manner of creative ways to extract whatever they can from the already over-taxed Kenyans.

That is why, we must acknowledge that we may have bequeathed ourselves a behemoth and, unfortunately, set about feeding it on exquisite cuisine. Whereas we may love it and tout it, bottom line — the cost is unsustainable. As more and more of our earnings are taken up by government to feed this beast, and less and less is left in our pockets to feed our children, we could easily graduate from industrial unrest to social upheavals that may be more difficult to contain.

A possible way out is to bite the bullet and conduct a comprehensive and radical review of the structure of government and rationalise the pay structure to within sustainable levels. Such revised structure should involve relevant stakeholders and include public participation.

Since it is likely to result in equitable, but reduced compensation for some government workers, it should be implemented in the next cycle of government after the next elections. Consequently, government service will be for those who see it as partial sacrifice for the nation and not a gravy train for self-aggrandisement.