The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to urgently resolve the lingering salary dispute with the Joint Health Sector Unions, warning that failure to revive negotiations could trigger another industrial crisis in the health sector.
The NLC issued the call in a letter dated August 6, 2026, addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment and signed by its President, Joe Ajaero.
The letter follows the Joint Health Sector Unions’ July 31 message, in which they expressed concern with the slow pace of efforts to fulfil their requests, particularly the revision of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure.
The NLC expressed concern that agreements, memoranda of understanding, and collective bargaining agreements negotiated with the government over the years had not adequately addressed the health workers’ issues.
“We are similarly concerned that years after signing MoUs, terms of agreement and CBAs (Collective Bargaining Agreements) in addition to promises and assurances from appropriate authorities, members of JOHESU have been ignored or abandoned,” Ajaero stated.
As a result, the labour centre urged the labour minister to intervene and ensure that negotiations resumed immediately, as well as to consult with the Presidential Committee on Salaries on the issue.
“Honourable Minister, in light of the above, we strongly urge that you do all that is within your power to ensure immediate resumption of the collective agreement negotiation as well as nudge the Presidential Committee on Salaries to do the needful,” the letter stated.
The NLC cautioned that failure to conclude the issue might have major ramifications, particularly for healthcare services and national industrial relations.
“It needs no telling that the consequences of a complete breakdown in negotiations are quite grave,” it stated.
Although the NLC stated that its letter was not intended as a threat, it promised to back JOHESU if the union was forced to take more industrial action.
“We do not intend this as a threat, given the circumstances of this matter.
“However, in the event JOHESU is compelled to take further action in respect of this matter, the congress will not hesitate to lend its support to the hilt,” Ajaero said.
The current development follows months of JOHESU suspending an 84-day statewide strike over the same CONHESS conflict.
The health unions began the indefinite strike in November 2025, following the Federal Government’s failure to adopt the revised CONHESS and address other long-standing welfare issues.
The action was suspended in February 2026 to allow for the implementation of the settlement terms struck with the government.
The disagreement centres on non-doctor health professionals’ demand for an adjustment to CONHESS similar to the reviews implemented under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for doctors.
JOHESU has emphasised that its demand dates back more than a decade, and the 2021 technical committee recommendation on the compensation adjustment is still pending full implementation.
In January 2026, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government for failing to adopt the amended CONHESS, threatening widespread industrial action.
However, the Federal Government stated that it was dedicated to resolving the disagreement and that the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission was conducting a job appraisal exercise to identify the right placement of health professionals.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare stated that the exercise was planned to serve as a foundation for negotiations about salary changes and the resumption of the collective bargaining process.
With the NLC’s new intervention, the Federal Government is once again under pressure to keep the long-running CONHESS issue from devolving into another strike that might affect healthcare services across the country.
