JOHESU STRIKE ENTERS 82ND DAY AS HEALTH WORKERS DEMAND CONHESS ADJUSTMENT
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Striking health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) have insisted that only the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) will end their ongoing industrial action, as negotiations with the Federal Government remain deadlocked.
The strike entered its 82nd day on Wednesday, crippling activities in government-owned hospitals nationwide and leaving thousands of patients without access to essential healthcare services.
JOHESU, which represents health professionals in pharmacies, laboratories and other support services, has maintained that the strike will continue until the Federal Government implements the report of the Technical Committee on the adjustment of CONHESS, submitted since 2021.
The prolonged shutdown has prompted Nigeria’s two major labour centres—the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC)—to issue a 14-day ultimatum in solidarity with the health workers. The ultimatum, which expires on Friday, February 6, 2026, warned that affiliate unions could join the strike if the government fails to address what labour leaders describe as the continued maltreatment of health workers.
In a joint statement, the Secretary-General of the TUC, Nuhu Toro, and the Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, accused the Federal Government of deliberately refusing to implement the salary adjustment despite repeated engagements.
They condemned what they termed “the persistent and deliberate provocative refusal of the Federal Government to implement the report of the Technical Committee on the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure.”
According to the labour centres, the delay “has gone beyond an administrative lapse and now constitutes a conscious act of injustice, bad faith and institutional disrespect to health workers and organised labour.”
The unions also criticised the government for implementing the adjustment of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) with effect from January 2, 2014, while allegedly failing to extend the same treatment to CONHESS.
Speaking to our correspondent in Abuja, the National President of JOHESU, Kabiru Minjibir, confirmed that talks with the government remain stalled.
“Negotiations are still deadlocked, and the strike continues. The 14-day ultimatum issued by the NLC and TUC expires on Friday,” Minjibir said.
He stressed that the union’s demand remains clear and singular.
“We are on strike because of one single demand, which is the adjustment of CONHESS, just as was done for the sister salary structure, CONMESS, in 2014. Once the government does the needful, we will suspend the strike,” he said.
Minjibir added that the union had yet to receive any invitation from the Federal Government as the ultimatum deadline approaches.
When contacted, the Director of Press at the ministry, Alaba Balogun, said he would revert to our correspondent but had yet to do so as of press time.
The strike is coming at a critical time for the country’s public health system, as cases of Lassa fever continue to rise.
Data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control show that more than 90 cases and 17 deaths were recorded nationwide in the first three weeks of 2026 alone, raising concerns about the impact of the prolonged shutdown of key services in public hospitals.
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