The federal government is considering adopting a productivity-led wage system that pays civil servants based on their output rather than fixed salary scales. While aiming to incentivize harder work, critics warn the proposal could disadvantage many diligent employees unfairly.
The Nigerian federal government is developing a controversial new wage system for civil servants that would tie their pay directly to productivity metrics, rewarding top performers with higher salaries while punishing those who underperform, according to the director-general of the National Productivity Centre.
The proposal aims to create powerful financial incentives to boost worker output and efficiency as a way to catalyze greater economic growth in Africa's largest economy. But labor advocates argue the plan could unfairly disadvantage many diligent employees and increase insecurity by subjecting their earnings to unreliable metrics and potential supervisor bias.
"We are in the process of developing a productivity-led wage system that will ensure those who are productive are rewarded for their efforts irrespective of their grade level," Dr. Nasir Raji-Mustapha said Monday. "Under the proposed system, employees on the same salary scale can earn different wages."
The new pay-for-performance model would require employers to meticulously track data on individual employees' output and productivity against specific benchmarks and targets. Workers who exceed those goals could see salary increases, while those who miss the marks risk stagnant wages or even pay cuts.
Administration officials argue such a model is sorely needed to shake up Nigeria's sluggish productivity growth and create a pay structure aligned with a competitive, high-performance workforce. They insist it will properly compensate and motivate the nation's top talent.
However, critics counter that relying too heavily on quantitative metrics runs the risk of undercounting or overlooking the intangible but vital work of many civil servants. They warn of demoralizing effects if the system is implemented in a non-transparent way that lacks proper checks and accountability.
"Measuring productivity and performance is extremely complex, especially in fields like education, healthcare and social services where the outputs are difficult to quantify," said Lorretta Yaki, general secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, a leading trade union. "We fear this could open the door to cronyism and unfair treatment if supervisors' evaluations are subjective or biased."
Raji-Mustapha said labor unions have been consulted during the multi-year development process and insisted their feedback would be incorporated. He added the National Productivity Centre would also seek input from international organizations like the International Labour Organization before presenting the finalized proposal to the government.
If approved, Nigeria would join a small but growing number of countries including South Korea, Mexico and Saudi Arabia that have adopted pay-for-performance models for public sector employees in recent years, though their implementation has faced hiccups. Advocates argue such merit-based compensation systems are long overdue to modernize bloated, inefficient bureaucracies.
But others question whether the benefits outweigh the costs and potential disruptions, especially in lower-income countries with already strained government finances and workforces. How smoothly any changes could be implemented in Nigeria's massive civil service apparatus, and what impacts they might have, remains to be seen.
"This reform could be a lightning rod for controversy if not handled properly," said Usman Tela, an economist at the University of Abuja. "Getting the incentives right is crucial, but so is maintaining transparency, due process and morale. The risks of getting it wrong are considerable."
