When it comes to workers' pay, I have a mixed perspective. In the same profession or organization, I don't think it's fair for everyone to earn equal pay.
In the same profession, we have different levels of workers. The more you gain experience on a job, the more your pay is liable to rise in most cases. I think this is fair because someone with twenty years experience on a job shouldn't be equated to an entry level employee. It is fair to reward experience because it is very vital for the improvement in work output.
In some professions, we have different levels of expertise. Take construction work as an example, the level of expertise required of the Engineer that is designing a bridge is more than that of other downline workers that are expected to execute the design. In that case, I can only call for improvement in the earnings of the lower level workers like laborers but having different pay among the workers is justifiable.
If I had the power, I would improve the earnings of the lower level workers in such a way that they too can have a living wage. I support the disparity in payments when outputs by employees are taken into consideration. Without this in place, workers won't strive to improve on themselves and subsequently on the job. If the pay is made the same, you would see some workers playing around because they knew that they would get the same pay as the workaholics. To ensure good results, workers should be rewarded according to their level of dedication to their duties.
However, there are some cases where I have a soft spot for equal payment. One of such cases is when different professions are being compared.
The entry level of the medical profession should be the same as that of teaching. I am convinced that all professions have their individual roles to play in order to make the world work better. The disparity, to me, is telling us that a profession is more important than the other.
A teacher taught other profession.
A Medical Doctor is needed to improve the health of the populace for better living.
The farmer feeds everyone.
The policemen help to fight crime and make the environment conducive for others to work.
The military protects the country against external aggression and in few cases, helps the police in internal security.
The lawyer defends people's rights and in conjunction with the roles of the judge, they ensure justice in the society.
The list of different professions and their roles in making the society works better can't be exhausted. If you look at the roles of each of the professions, I don't think the world can cope effectively with the absence of one. I wonder why some are taken as being more noble than the others.
If they are all important to the smooth running of human endeavors, I think there shouldn't be discrimination in their payments.
In Nigeria, for example, teachers are ridiculously paid compared to other professions. If I had the power, the entry level pay would be the same across all the professions. It will make people go for their passion and not necessarily run after a particular profession because of the monetary advantage.
I think if this is properly implemented, everyone would be happy with what they get.
Thank you for reading and for leaving your comment.
The picture is mine.
In the issue of equal wages, experience is the major determiner. It is with the level of experience and hard work that has been put in and the subsequent rewards that each level of experience gets which accounts for equity in the distribution of wages.
I love the word equity. You are rewarded for you dedication and years of service. That's truly equity.
True.
I also have similar perspective, we have different levels and jobs in an organisation/company. The type job description determines the pay.
In the aspect of comparing different professions, e.g teachers and doctors. It is well known that teachers are underpaid but comparing them to doctors is a different thing. There are levels to teaching jobs, we also have lecturers, we have some lecturers that collect more salary than some doctors.
Most teaching job salaries are determined by the level you are, moreover the technicality of both profession differs.
No lecturer (I am in the University system) collects salary more than a doctor at the same level. The entry level of lecturing is about 107k net pay, their medical counterpart is more than 200k. That's how it is up to professorship and consultant ranks for lecturer and Doctor respectively.
Malaysia is paying primary school teachers more than university teachers and that's why you can find a PhD holder teaching in primary school. China is doing something close.
Technicalities are brought in to defend the unjust disparities.
I read a post similar to this article some hours ago. In every society or organization, there is a social class that entails ranking an individual based on academic achievements, work experience, etc which determines the payment of the workers in the organization. As an adage says all fingers are not equal. There are different levels of social class in our societies and organizations.
You are right. There is level to everything.
You are welcome! colleague.