By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
After weeks of paralysis across federal hospitals and rising pressure from organised labour, the Federal Government has moved to reclaim control of a worsening industrial crisis in Nigeria’s health sector, unveiling a framework aimed at ending the strike by Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) while reopening negotiations on long-contested pay disparities.
In a detailed response issued in Abuja on Friday, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare pushed back against allegations by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) that it deliberately stalled the review of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
Instead, the government insisted it is actively negotiating, balancing competing union interests and laying the groundwork for a system-wide salary reset.
The dispute, which erupted into a nationwide strike on November 14, 2025, centres on JOHESU’s demand that CONHESS be adjusted in line with the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) earlier reviewed for doctors.
Labour leaders argue that failure to implement a 2021 technical committee report recommending the adjustment amounts to institutional disrespect and discrimination against non-physician health workers.
Government officials flatly deny that narrative.
According to the Ministry, far from stonewalling, the Federal Government has held multiple conciliatory meetings with JOHESU since the strike began both at the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Labour and Employment even as the unions sought judicial intervention at the National Industrial Court.
A key breakthrough, the Ministry said, came at a high-level meeting convened on January 15, 2026, where both sides reached a tentative understanding of a framework to resolve the dispute.
Two additional meetings followed on January 20 and 22, aimed at finalising agreed points and clearing the way for the strike to be suspended.
At the January 15 meeting, JOHESU pressed for immediate implementation of the 2021 report of the Technical Sub-Committee under the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), which proposed adjustments to CONHESS.
The unions also demanded the withdrawal of the government’s “No Work, No Pay” policy, arguing it should not apply to their members.
The Ministry’s response was cautious but strategic.
Rather than rushing a salary adjustment that could inflame tensions among other professional groups, government negotiators appealed for patience, pointing to an ongoing job evaluation exercise being conducted by the NSIWC.
The exercise, which began in November 2025 and is expected to last six months, is designed to reassess the placement and remuneration of all health professionals using evidence-based benchmarks.
Officials argue that this approach is necessary because of the conflicting memoranda of understanding signed by different unions over the years, a legacy problem that has repeatedly derailed past reform efforts.
Once the evaluation is concluded, the government says it will reopen collective bargaining talks and formally address salary adjustments across the board.
On the explosive “No Work, No Pay” issue, the Ministry offered a significant olive branch: if JOHESU calls off the strike in good faith, the matter would be handled administratively and in its entirety.
In a bid to lower the temperature further, the Ministry confirmed it has no objection to the continued involvement of the NLC and TUC in the negotiations, signalling openness to broader labour mediation.
The government also moved to reframe the public narrative around compensation.
It noted that the CONHESS dispute has lingered unresolved for more than a decade, defeating successive administrations.
JOHESU members, it added, are beneficiaries of recent increases in professional allowances including ₦58 billion paid in arrears from July 2024 and an additional ₦40 billion annually.
Still, officials acknowledged the political and human cost of the standoff.
With hospitals strained and patients bearing the brunt, the Ministry reiterated that its overriding objective is uninterrupted healthcare delivery, fairness across professional cadres and long-term industrial peace.
It urged JOHESU to suspend the strike and allow negotiations to continue, warning that prolonged disruption risks undermining public trust in the health system.
The statement closed with a pointed note of gratitude to health professionals who have remained on duty despite the industrial action, pledging that federal hospitals will remain open while talks continue.
As Nigeria grapples with fragile healthcare capacity and rising social pressure, the coming days will test whether dialogue can finally succeed where years of brinkmanship have failed or whether the salary war in the health sector is headed for yet another escalation.
