Are we "worked" enough?

"Are we paid enough?", is what we are accustomed to asking and/or hearing. Instead, have you ever thought of asking the opposite, like " are we paid too much?" or "are we "worked" enough?".

With the new salary structure of Civil Service, the basic salary and take-home pay has been revised for everyone in the service. After a great deal of foul cry, debates, accusations and controversy from many groups and professions in the Civil Service, now the tension seems to have subsided for a little. All the while Civil Service Commission had maintained their position saying, that the new structure is not an increase in salaries per say, but a revision of the structure of pay. Whether it means two different things is a different story. What we know for sure is that everyone in the civil service has seen an increase in their take-home pay. The rate of increase may have been different for different people, but the increase was there nonetheless.

I think now its time for us to ask whether the increase or the total pay we receive is justifiable for the tasks the we are asked to perform. How do we know that? The basic economic concept of demand and supply can be applied to obtain an answer.

Lets say, a personal secretary to a Manager who is merely asked to perform some administrative functions, such as managing appointments, typing letters, answering telephone calls is paid Rf 20,000.00, maybe she is paid that much because she has been in the service for a long period of time hence, huge incremental increase is received. would you consider it too less, OK, or too much? Do you think such an experienced staff is required for that post?

The answer is in asking the following question. Can we find someone who will be willing to perform the said functions for a lesser salary? if the answer is Yes then, she is definitely paid too much, if the answer is No, maybe she is paid OK, or maybe even too little. (assuming the required skills are identified and agreed).

My point is this, if the staff are paid too little, the management is made aware of the fact by the staff everyday all the time. But what if they are paid too much? how will management know about that, the staff definitely will not tell.