BusinessDay reported Tuesday that the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) had told members across Nigeria to prepare for a possible strike over a pay adjustment it says has stalled for about 13 years.
The proposed change concerns the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), the public-sector pay system for health workers other than doctors and dental surgeons. JOHESU describes the adjustment as a demand it has pursued for roughly 13 years.
According to JOHESU, approval remains pending because the Presidential Committee on Salaries has been unable to meet. JOHESU said that on June 5, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare sent a 2021 report by the High-Level Body Technical Committee to the Budget Office of the Federation.
JOHESU said President Bola Tinubu promised to implement the adjustment that day when he asked members to suspend a strike.
In a statement signed by JOHESU National Chairman Kabiru Minjibir and National Secretary Martin Egbanubi, the union called on members to mobilize at health facilities for possible industrial action. It asked them to remain peaceful while awaiting further direction from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), whose efforts to secure the pay change it welcomed.
