HUMAN-RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND THE RESTRUCTURING OF PUBLIC UTILITIES -WATER AND ELECTRICITY IN AFRICA

Most of the state companies producing and distributing water and elect ricity in sub-Saharan Africa are being restructured. The authors exami ne the role of human resource management in restructuring programmes i mplemented in some 20 companies in the 1980s. Under budget stringency reducing the wage bill is required, entailing a trade-off between empl oyment and wage levels, the choice having an effect on productivity. R ecruitment has been at the top and bottom ends of the occupational sca le, while intrnal promotion has helped move many operatives into super visory positions. Within individual companies, differentials in wages and fringe benefits have generally narrowed to the detriment of staff in the highest occupational categories.