Abstract:

Wages and salaries administration has been a polemical issue in the practice of human resource development and also a subject of immense controversy in the context of Nigeria administrative setup for several decades now. This situation arises from the fact that the standard of living of workers depends on the wages or salaries they receive, while to the employer, wages salaries offer a considerable items in the cost of production. Hence, this study examined the administration of wages and salaries as it affects employees’ performance and commitment using some selected manufacturing Industries in Ota, Ogun state, South-West, Nigeria. Efficiency Wage theory complemented by Marginal Productivity theory were adopted for this study. Descriptive research method was adopted for this study using two hundred and fifty eight valid questionnaires which were completed by selected manufacturing industries in Ota, Ogun State using simple random and stratified sampling technique. The findings revealed that financial rewards (wages and salaries) encourage workers’ externally. It was indicated that some of the employees seem to be satisfied and content with their job not because they derive pleasure from the work itself but because there are no other alternatives, a majority of them made statements such as “half bread is better than none” and also because the profit sharing is not equitably fair enough. The administration of wages and salaries as well as fringe benefits in the selected manufacturing Industries, Ota has somewhat been impressive, yet the management still shy away from other conditions that build employees commitment such as transportation facilities, subsidized meals, medical facilities, loan facilities, sick leave/pay, e.t.c. Therefore, the need to take cognizance of fairness, equity, good working environment/conditions with frequent promotion as well as lesser accidents at work is paramount for organizational success.