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The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if the Nigerian Government fails to implement the reviewed Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
Kabiru Minjibir, National Chairman of JOHESU and President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), disclosed this in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
He said the unresolved salary adjustment has remained a major concern for health workers for over a decade, despite several engagements with the government.
Minjibir explained that the dispute stems from a provision in the salary structures introduced for medical doctors and other health professionals in 2016, which stated that any upward review of one salary structure should automatically trigger a corresponding review of the other.
“When the two salary structures were released in 2016, there was a clause that once one salary structure is reviewed upward, it automatically attracts a review of the other one,” he said.
He noted that while the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for doctors has been reviewed three times, the corresponding adjustment for health workers under CONHESS has not been implemented.
“Unfortunately, three reviews were done to CONMESS, which is for medical doctors, while other health workers were neglected. This has been the source of agitation over the last 10 years and the issue remains unresolved up to this moment,” he said.
The union had previously embarked on an industrial action in 2025 over the matter before entering negotiations with the federal government.
Minjibir recalled that JOHESU issued an ultimatum that led to an 84-day strike which affected federal health institutions nationwide.
He said the union was later invited to a meeting by the Minister of Labour and Employment alongside relevant agencies, including the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, where a memorandum of understanding was signed. The agreement set April 2026 as the deadline for implementation of the salary adjustment.
However, he said the agreement has yet to be fulfilled.
“There is already agitation among health workers across the country that another ultimatum should be issued to the government,” he said.
Minjibir added that the union is still consulting before deciding on further industrial action.
He warned that failure to improve workers’ remuneration could negatively affect productivity in the health sector.
“If health workers’ remuneration is not improved, government should not expect productivity,” he said.
He added that patients would ultimately suffer the consequences of any strike action in the health sector.
