Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s healthcare system faces fresh turmoil as the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA) begin an indefinite nationwide strike today, Saturday, following a formal declaration issued in a statement on Friday.
The unions say the industrial action becomes unavoidable after the federal government repeatedly fails to implement the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and address long-standing welfare concerns affecting thousands of health workers across the country.
In the statement signed by JOHESU National Chairman, Kabiru Minjibri, the union accuses the government of “repeatedly failing to honour agreements that directly affect the welfare, motivation and retention of critical health professionals.” The strike, it notes, follows the expiration of a 15-day ultimatum earlier issued to the federal government, which was ignored despite several reminders.
JOHESU insists that the implementation of the High-Level Body Committee’s report on CONHESS, submitted to the Presidential Committee on Salaries in 2022, remains central to its demands. The unions argue that a similar adjustment for doctors under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) was implemented in 2014, in what they describe as a violation of the 2009 Collective Bargaining Agreement and a continuation of “systemic discrimination” against other health professionals.
The union’s membership cuts across major health sector unions, including 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 (SSAUTHRIAN), and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU).
JOHESU has directed its state chapters to fully comply with the strike directive and issue statutory notices where required, warning that any attempt at intimidation or victimisation of members “will be met with appropriate resistance.”
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