JOHESU Strike: Health workers accuse government of bias, failed dialogue

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has blamed the federal government for the prolonged strike by health workers, accusing the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of bias and lack of genuine engagement.

The union’s national chairman, Kabiru Minjibir, told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview that repeated attempts to resolve the dispute through dialogue yielded no result, forcing the union to sustain its ongoing industrial action.

The industrial action, which began on 15 November 2025, has paralysed public hospitals across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and several states, with most facilities operating skeletal services.

Salary structure dispute

Mr Minjibir said the union’s demand for an adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) has remained unresolved for 12 years, despite what he described as a favourable review report completed in 2021 and cleared through due process.

“The demand for adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) has been on for 12 years, and we got a seemingly impressive favorable report that has gone through due process since 2021 but remains unimplemented,” he said.

He explained that although health workers are classified as essential service providers and are required to issue a 15-day notice before embarking on industrial action, the government failed to use that window to avert the strike.

“Our strike was, therefore, imperative in pursuit of a desire to remind the government that we are also citizens of Nigeria who deserve to enjoy benefit packages that are earned.”

According to him, rather than addressing the concerns raised, the Federal Ministry of Health has pursued policies that favour select groups within the health sector, creating division and deepening dissatisfaction among non-physician health workers.

“The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has been playing very divisive politics, which gives only a favored group reward for labor,” he said.

Mr Minjibir said the strike was meant to remind the government that all health workers are citizens entitled to fair compensation and recognition for their labour.

Emergency services, public responsibility

Addressing concerns over access to care during the strike, Mr Minjibir said industrial action in the health sector is typically structured as a total withdrawal of services, but allowances are often made for emergencies.

He noted that health workers also have families and may themselves require medical care, making some level of discretion inevitable.

However, he acknowledged that such discretion could be abused, stressing the need for oversight to ensure that emergency services are not misused or selectively applied.

Breakdown in negotiations

Mr Minjibir identified the Federal Ministry of Health as the major obstacle in negotiations, stating that the union’s engagement with the ministry has deteriorated.

According to him, discussions that should involve genuine dialogue have increasingly become one-sided, with little consideration given to JOHESU’s position.

He accused the ministry of professional protectionism, arguing that the crisis is being managed in a way that prioritises the interests of a dominant professional group within the health sector.

Call for systemic reforms

Looking beyond the ongoing strike, Mr Minjibir said restoring stability to Nigeria’s public healthcare system would require fundamental structural reforms.

He called on governments at all levels to end what he described as group-dominated control of the health sector, sustained through questionable appointments across ministries, departments and agencies.

Mr Minjibir argued that the concentration of leadership positions in the hands of one profession within a multidisciplinary system has encouraged impunity and weakened accountability, particularly at the Federal Ministry of Health.

He also criticised the continued headship of hospitals by physicians, describing it as unconstitutional and symptomatic of deeper structural flaws.

According to him, until these foundational issues are addressed, industrial disputes will persist, adding that the union is prepared for a prolonged struggle to secure equitable representation and professional balance in the health sector.

“We must address these foundational defects, including the unconstitutional headship of hospitals by physicians,” he said.

“It may be tough, but we are now mentally conditioned for the battle to reshape our professional destiny.”

Background to strike

The ongoing industrial action by JOHESU began on 15 November 2025 after the union accused the federal government of failing to implement agreed adjustments to the CONHESS and address longstanding welfare concerns affecting non-doctor health workers.

The strike was declared indefinite following what the union described as prolonged delays by relevant government agencies in acting on the report of the High-Level Body Committee on CONHESS, which was submitted to the Presidential Committee on Salaries and Wages in 2022.

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JOHESU said its demand for salary adjustment dates back to 2014, when doctors received salary reviews under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), while other health workers under CONHESS were excluded, a situation the union said breached the 2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The union has accused relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of slowing the process, citing what it described as poor prioritisation of the matter by the Presidential Committee on Salaries.

According to JOHESU, the decision to embark on the strike followed a unanimous resolution at its Expanded National Executive Council meeting on 14 November 2025, in line with provisions of Section 41 of the Trade Disputes Act, Cap. T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.