Cynthia Ezegwu
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations have declared an indefinite nationwide strike, set to commence on Saturday, November 15, 2025.
In a statement signed by JOHESU National Chairman, Comrade Kabiru Ado Minjibir, the unions cited the Federal Government’s failure to implement the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and address longstanding welfare and systemic issues affecting health workers as the primary reasons for the strike.
The strike comes amid an ongoing indefinite industrial action by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) over unpaid hazard allowances, poor working conditions, and unimplemented welfare reforms. Analysts warn that the overlapping strikes could severely disrupt services in federal teaching hospitals, specialist centres, and many state-owned hospitals.
JOHESU represents several key unions, including the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions, and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions.
The unions stressed that the government’s prolonged delay in implementing the High-Level Body Committee’s report on the adjusted CONHESS, submitted in 2022, remains the principal trigger for the action. “Nothing has been done by successive administrations to redress this infraction. Despite assurances by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June 2023, the demand remains unattended to,” the statement said.
JOHESU also accused the Federal Government of failing to prioritise the matter even after the reconstitution of the Presidential Committee on Salaries. The unions described the delay as “one of the longest and most protracted demands in Nigeria’s labour history.”
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The decision to embark on the indefinite strike followed a unanimous resolution during JOHESU’s Expanded National Executive Council hybrid meeting on November 14, 2025. State chapters and the Federal Capital Territory are expected to serve their governments a 15-day notice in line with labour laws.
The unions warned members to strictly comply with the strike directive and cautioned the government against intimidation or sanctions. “JOHESU will not accept victimisation of its members by the government or any employer in public health institutions across the country on account of this strike action,” the statement concluded.
The industrial action is expected to escalate the ongoing healthcare crisis in Nigeria, putting pressure on the Federal Government to address the unions’ long-standing demands.