EMPLOYMENT WELFARE PROGRAMME IN NIGERIA
(A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA TELECOMMUNICATION LIMITED (NITEL)
ABSTRACT
The practice of employee welfare programme has now become a popular phenomenon of the total personnel policy of any organization. The programme involve given extra benefit to employee to supplement their ways to a cost to the employee.
They are important to both the organization and the employee from employee, point of view it is anticipate that a good employee welfare will include the employee to the work hard and improve their general attitude towards the organization. But for the employee these benefits represent an extra income, additional security, as more desirable working condition that is required no additional effort.
In examining this practice in Nigerian Telecommunication (NITEL) ltd, the study is divided into three chapters.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
General background to the subject matter;
Problems Associated with the subject matter;
Problems (s) that the study will be concerned with;
The importance of studying the area;
Definition of important Terms;
(Chapter) Reference (using APA method).
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The origin of the subject Area;
The schools of thought within the subject Area;
The school of thought relevant to the problems of study;
Different methods of studying the problem;
Summary;
References.
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
Data presentation (highlights of the study);
Analysis of the data;
Recommendation;
Conclusions;
References;
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION IN THE CASE COMPANY NITEL
The Nigerian Telecommunication limited (NITEL) came into existence in January 1985 as a result of merger between the former Nigeria External telecommunication limited (NET) and the telecommunication section of the former post and telecommunication Department (D $ T) by the federal Government. The reasons for the mergers adduced by the government were the compatibility of services /equipments and the streamlining of activities in both NET and T.
It was envisaged that NITEL will definitely create harmonization and  government. The main objective of the company is the provision of telecommunication services, both internally and internationally through a combination of communication satellites, submarine cables of microware links and the high frequency radio network.
The telecommunication services provided by NITEL include the following (both internal and ext
The telecommunication services provided by NITEL include the following (both internal and external)
Telephone service
Telex service
Telegram service
Press recreation
International Direct Delivery serviced (IDD)
Voice cast
Leased circuit
Photo telegrams
Ship shore service
Television converge via satellite
High frequency radio service
 Nitel at its Head office in Abuja and at its branches is rendering the above services to the public all across the nation on a 24 hours daily basis.
The importance of the above services can not overstated,  in the development of our country’s economy. It is a known fact that communication is an essential and vital means of development in time of peace and war. Its efficiency is not only desirable, but inevitable if the nation must achieve its economic objective and maintain its proper place in the community of nations.
            NITEL in its stive of providing improved and efficient telecommunications services is segmented into five zones of operations, with the national headquarters in Lagos/Abuja. The zones are:
1.         Lagos/Abuja
2.         SouthWest
3.         SouthEast
4.         NorthWest and
5.         North East
            The zones are further divided into 23 territories, all across the 35 states of the federation, including the federal capital Territory, Abuja.
The company is structured into 9 (nine) divisions for proper and effective administration. Each division is headed by a Director or General manager, as the case may be.
            There are two Deputy managing Directors who co-ordinate the divisions together for achieving the company’s objectives. The company as a whole headed by a managing Director. At the top of the organizational hierarchy, the company has a Board of Directors, comprising the chairman, the managing Director, the two Deputy managing Directors and the heads of division and zones, as well as the company Secretary/Legal Adviser.
            The organization is really a complex one and was s such designed to ease the achievement of the company objective. In the area of administration, the company had formulated many new policies. One of such policies includes the recently revised fringe benefits schemes.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM      
           Administrative of employee welfare programme are
Fraught with complex problem.
          Some of these problem derive from the installation of
The programme ,others purely form inherent bureaucratic procedures.
A few of these problems are:
(1)    ACCOUNTING PROBLEM:
The crux of accounting problem facing managers is the fact that very few companies maintain a breakdown of the cost of these fringe benefits to reflect.
        a. Cost per employee per year
        b. Percentage of payroll made up of fringe benefit  cost .
        c. cost per employee per hour-actual productive hours worked.
 In companies where any regular fringe account at all is Attempted, it is likely to be in terms of total (naira) cost of Fringe benefits and total scheduled hours of work.
(2)                ELIGIBILITY PROBLEM:
The issue of those who have eligibility for fringe benefits has a profound effect on the cost of the programme.
The more liberal, the eligibility rules the higher the cost.
For example, some new companies do not allow there new employees to enjoy certain benefits until their rotational period is over.
 Sometimes, some companies do restrict the eligibility of employees
for a particular benefit plan to a specified categories or levels of employees.
EMPLOYEE FENCING:
Should employees make any contribution to the expense of the times benefit programme?
Most unions and employees are strongly opposed to contributory programmes. Since many employees tell that they have earned the benefits that they are being granted, they cannot understand why they should pay part of the cost any more from their own wages.
FINANCIAL PROBLEM;
Many  Companies   introduce some benefit plan when it is financially  sound and tend to run into trouble when they can no longer support the plan financially.
Management must therefore realize that when it introduces a benefit plan it permits some part of the firm economic resources even where there are on legal obligation to so employee often feel that management has made a moral commitment to continue the programme indefinitely.
An example of such plans is Christmas bones. It is advisable therefore that before entering into a programme, the management should face the problem of having to make through, realistic evaluation of its cost, both short- term and long- term. But where the management finds itself incapable of continuing a programme, it would bring the company’s plight before the union, so that renegotiations would take place for trading off the programme.
OTHER PROBLEMS.
There are of many other problems such as difficulty in making accurate predictions of the cost of benefit programmes as they have the tendency to grow expensive over time, freezing  the mobility of labour among rank and file workers, changes in the national economy etc.
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY:
SAFETY PROGRAMMES AND WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION:
Most companies have some type of safety programme to educate workers such as posters, waning signs, safety talk and other media by which employees are urged to follow them.
Some companies also conduct safety education of courses that are aimed at reducing the occurrence of accidents at work. Worker who however falls in accidents in the work place is compensated.
The benefit are standardize so as to match any degree of accident. Hence management seeks to avoid the necessity for court action. These they do in compliance to workmen’s compensation Act of 1958.
HEALTH INSURANCE:
Accidents and industrial diseases growing out of the job are compassable. Various forms of health and accidents insurance are provided, some completely financed by the employer while others are shared with the employee. The following types of insurance are provided by various firms:
A      Hospitalization
B      surgical expense
C      vision care
D      Dental care etc.
 MEDICAL SERVICES:
There is increasing interest among large companies in providing medical services for their employees. Other companies under take the services of one or more clinics to render the medical services for their employees and their dependents.
OLD AGE AND RETIREMENT:
A major source of worker concern about economic security is    possibility of dependency in old age.
Involuntary retirements, disability or death may create serious economic problem for employees or their dependents. Current policy has developed public union and individual firm programme to meet these problems.
Public programmes now provide both age pensions and retirement programme.
SIGNIFICANCE’S AND NEED FOR STUDY:
COMPANY RETIREMENT PROGRAMME.
A formal company retirement programme can help to facilitate the various adjustment that may be required within the company and on the part of the employees when they retires. Many companies offer their employees a huge of money know as gratuity on retirement.
This is sort of compensation to the employee for successful years spent with the organization. In Nigeria the age of retirement range from 55years to 65years or more depending on the company’s policy.
PENSION PLANS:
Many companies undertake pension plans for their employees as a means of insuring them when on retirements. Most of the plans are financed by employer and the employee.
Benefits are administered by insurance firms or by trustees of noninsured plans. Employees under the plans are paid a specified amount on monthly basis after retirement. This is common in the public sector in Nigeria.
The basis provisions of the scheme involve payments of a specified amount to the employee after retirement on monthly basis from the contribution. In some organizations, it is paid bulk to the employee on APPROVAL PAGE
Retirement. Other provisions include death in service benefits, gratuity etc. it is universal and covers all staffs irrespective of their status.
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
MOTIVATION
         The word motivation is derived from the latin term “movere”, which means to move. But today the word means more than this. Deaseler (1976) sees it as a reflection of a person’s desire to fulfill certain-needs.
         Meanwhile, Huczynsk,and Buchanan (1985) defined motivation as “a decision making process through which the individual choose desired outcomes and sets in motion the behaviour appropriate to acquiring them”. All these descriptions contain three common aspect of the motivation process. They deal with:
What energies human behaviour?
How this behaviour directed.
How this behaviour can be maintained.
Therefore, motivation can be defined as an organizational incentive system which co-ordinates the organization rewards with its worker efforts. It can come in form of fringe benefit, promotion ,wage bonus, stock portions, better welfare packages and provision of adequate health facilities.
MOTIVATION AND MONEY:
         Money has been a means of motivating workers. It is generally the measure by which goods performance is recognized.
STATUS:
         This is social rank of a person in a group status, enables people to affirm the different characteristics and abilities of group members status conscious people will work hard to earn it. It can be tied down to actions that further company’s goals, then employees will be strongly motivated to support their company.
VALENCE:
         This refers to the attractiveness of the rewards of the rewards of working security is more guaranteed in public sector jobs but more volatile in the private sector employment.   However, employee rewards in the private sector are nothing to be compared with the rewards in public sector.
INSTRUMENTALITY:
         This is the relationship between the effort of the employee and the reward he is receiving. The major reward which an employee identifies are salary, fringe benefit ,promotion, supportive behaviour, fairness, honesty etc. Group acceptance and joy derived in doing the work itself.
TOOLS:
         Tools means the existence of infrastructure support.
Many personnel in Nigeria organizations are not always on seat.
         They have gone to the bank, phones are not working, workers go outsides their organizations and pay to urinate.
         These things and more should be made available in the working places, so that productivity could be increased.