By Haruna Abdulrashid
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), comprising 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 the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), has issued a fresh 15-day strike ultimatum to the Federal Government.
The notice, contained in a letter addressed to the Ministers of Health, and Labour and Employment, was signed by JOHESU National Chairman, Ado Kabiru, and National Secretary, Martins Egbanubi. It directed members to commence an indefinite strike from midnight of November 14, 2024, should the Federal Government fail to meet their demands.
JOHESU stated that the notice was issued in line with the provisions of Section 41 of the Trade Disputes Act, Cap T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. The union highlighted its demands, including the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Federal Government on October 29, 2024, to fast-track payment of the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS)—as was done for the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) on three occasions since 2014.
The union noted that the trade dispute has become necessary due to the government’s inability to address its long-standing “flagship demand,” despite the personal intervention and assurances of President Bola Tinubu.
According to JOHESU, its leadership had met with the President on June 5, 2023, to facilitate the suspension of a then-ongoing health workers’ strike. However, despite the President’s assurances and several MoUs and resolutions reached during conciliation meetings with government representatives, the key demands remain unfulfilled.
JOHESU lamented that government representatives have repeatedly linked implementation delays to the non-convening of the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS), which has not met since August 2023, following the inauguration of the current Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The union further disclosed that despite holding more than 12 meetings with government officials, the situation has not improved. It described as “embarrassing and discriminatory” the treatment of its national representatives at a supposed tripartite meeting held on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at the Federal Ministry of Finance.
JOHESU explained that it was invited to the meeting alongside the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). However, after patiently waiting for the presiding chairman and Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, to address NARD’s issues, the Minister reportedly refused to allow JOHESU representatives to make their presentation—an action the union described as “antithetical to relationship management and industrial relations etiquette.”
The union stressed that its consistent demonstration of understanding toward the government, coupled with its empathy for healthcare consumers who may suffer whenever over 85% of the nation’s health workforce down tools, has not been reciprocated.
“We are therefore left with no choice but to take our destiny into our own hands by resuming the suspended strike action of October 30, 2024 — exactly one year today,” JOHESU declared.