A labour dispute between the Federal Government and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has shut down public hospitals across Nigeria after two conciliation meetings failed to resolve disagreements over workers’ pay. The nationwide strike, which began at midnight on November 14, follows the government’s failure to implement the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), a wage review that health workers say has been pending for years.
The ongoing industrial action has withdrawn an estimated 85 per cent of Nigeria’s public health workforce from duty, disrupting hospital operations nationwide and raising concerns about workforce management, labour relations, and service delivery. Speaking on the standoff, the JOHESU National Secretary, Comrade Martin Egbanubi, said the union would not suspend the strike until the agreed salary adjustment is implemented.
At the Ogudu Primary Healthcare Centre in Lagos, the impact was evident, as the facility was completely deserted, with no staff or patients present. Similar shutdowns have been reported in public hospitals and primary healthcare centres across the country.
In an interview, Mr. Egbanubi said the strike is based on a single unresolved issue: the implementation of the adjusted CONHESS. He explained that the union is not making multiple demands, adding that the salary adjustment has remained unpaid since 2014, despite the existence of an official circular, an approved salary table, and a payment plan. “We are asking for the implementation of what has already been agreed,” he said.
He confirmed that two conciliation meetings, chaired either by the Minister of Labour or the Permanent Secretary, ended without agreement. According to him, JOHESU represents pharmacists, physiotherapists, laboratory scientists, health technologists, and administrative staff, a breadth of membership that accounts for the widespread shutdown of services.
At the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, said almost all activities had been brought to a halt. He warned that the health sector cannot withstand repeated industrial actions without serious humanitarian consequences and urged both the government and the unions to resolve the dispute in the interest of workers and patients.
The union said the dispute reflects years of delayed implementation and unfulfilled commitments. Mr. Egbanubi stated that the Federal Government had failed to implement the CONHESS adjustment despite assurances from the High-Level Body Committee in 2022 and commitments made by President Bola Tinubu during a meeting with union leaders in June 2023. He added that earlier strikes were suspended in June 2023 and October 2024 after agreements that were not honoured.
Mr. Egbanubi said JOHESU had exercised patience but now feels ignored. He said union members would return to work only when the salary structure adjustment is fully implemented, describing the strike as a matter of workers’ rights and fair compensation.
