Subscribe: Gist E-Paper
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has commenced nationwide mobilisation of health workers for possible industrial action over the Federal Government's failure to implement the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), a demand that has remained unresolved for about 13 years.
The union warned that it would resist any attempt to frustrate the salary adjustment, insisting that health workers would no longer tolerate further delays in fulfilling the outstanding agreement.
The decision followed resolutions reached at an emergency expanded National Executive Council (NEC) virtual meeting held on Thursday, October 29, 2026, involving its affiliate unions and organs at federal and state levels.
In a joint resolution signed by its National Chairman, Comrade Kabiru Minjibir, and National Secretary, Comrade Martin Egbanubi, JOHESU declared that the time for implementing the CONHESS adjustment was now or never.
The union also cautioned against what it described as interference by meddlesome interlopers in matters concerning the welfare and future of health workers.
JOHESU recalled that President Bola Tinubu, on June 5, 2023, had promised to facilitate the adjustment while appealing to the union to suspend its strike following his assumption of office.
It further recalled that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had, on the same day, forwarded the 2021 High Level Body Technical Committee Report on the adjustment to the Budget Office of the Federation, which serves as the secretariat of the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS).
However, the union accused the government of allowing the process to stall because the PCS had failed to convene, warning that it would no longer accept the committee's inability to act as an excuse for further delays.
The union commended the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) for their efforts to secure the adjustment, describing the demand as the oldest outstanding issue in the history of organised labour.
It also cited the Trade Unions Act, Cap T14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which empowers trade unions to negotiate benefit packages and collective bargaining agreements on behalf of their members.
Consequently, JOHESU directed its members to remain on alert and commenced mobilisation across health institutions nationwide in preparation for possible industrial action.
It warned that any attempt by the government to frustrate the demand could trigger what it described as necessary but unparalleled resistance.
The union, however, urged its members to remain peaceful while awaiting further directives from the NLC and TUC, following the ultimatum and timeline issued to the Federal Government.
JOHESU comprises the Medical and Health Workers' Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Senior Staff Association of Universities Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), including its technical arm, the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA)..
