The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has issued a fresh warning of a possible nationwide strike should the Federal Government fail to implement agreed salary adjustments by April, raising concerns over renewed disruption in public healthcare services across the country. The warning was issued on Tuesday in Calabar by the Chairman of JOHESU, Cross River State Chapter, Dr. Bassey Icha, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to him, the union’s patience is wearing thin following what he described as prolonged delays by the Federal Government in addressing long-standing wage disparities within the health sector. Dr. Icha explained that the warning follows the recent suspension of JOHESU’s nationwide strike, which commenced on November 15, 2025, and was called off on February 6 after the intervention of the union’s national leadership.
He said health workers across the country had since resumed duties after holding congresses in their various units and branches to ratify the decision. He stressed, however, that the suspension of the strike was not an end to the union’s demands but a gesture of goodwill to allow the government time to honour its commitments. According to Icha, the strike action was primarily triggered by the failure to review the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), which was introduced in 2009 and has remained largely unchanged despite rising economic realities and inflationary pressures.
He noted that while JOHESU members—who include pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists, nurses, midwives, and other health professionals—have waited for years for an upward review of their salary structure, medical doctors under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) have benefited from multiple salary adjustments over the same period. “This has continued to widen the salary gap within the health sector and has created deep-seated dissatisfaction among other health professionals who are equally critical to the delivery of quality healthcare,” Icha said.
He warned that the growing disparity threatens industrial harmony in the sector and could further demoralize non-physician health workers, many of whom are already grappling with economic hardship and poor working conditions. Dr. Icha urged the Federal Government to act swiftly to implement the agreed adjustments, stressing that failure to do so by April would leave the union with no option but to resume its suspended strike action.
He also called on the government to demonstrate fairness and equity in the treatment of all health workers, noting that a functional healthcare system depends on the collective efforts of diverse professionals, not doctors alone. The JOHESU chairman appealed to Nigerians for understanding, stating that the union’s actions were not intended to inconvenience the public but to ensure justice, motivation, and sustainability within the health sector. As negotiations continue, observers warn that a renewed strike could further strain Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system, underscoring the urgency for the Federal Government to resolve the impasse before the April deadline.
