Health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Healthcare Professionals have issued a 15-day strike ultimatum to the Federal Government, warning of a total shutdown of medical services from midnight, Friday, November 14, 2025, if their long-standing demands are not met.

The planned industrial action, if enforced, could cripple hospitals, research institutes, and teaching hospitals across Nigeria, as JOHESU represents several major unions, including the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria, Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, 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 have been in prolonged negotiations with the Federal Government over salary disparities and welfare gaps between JOHESU members and doctors under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS). Their flagship demand — the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) — has remained unresolved for more than a decade.

In a letter dated October 30, 2025, addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment, JOHESU accused the Federal Government of reneging on the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the union on October 29, 2024. The agreement was meant to fast-track the long-delayed CONHESS adjustment.

The letter, jointly signed by JOHESU Chairman Kabiru Minjibir and National Secretary Martin Egbanubi, said despite repeated assurances — including a 2023 intervention by President Bola Tinubu — the government has failed to act.

The union lamented that its welfare demands have been trapped in bureaucratic limbo under the yet-to-be-convened Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS), which has not met since August 2023 despite several assurances from the Federal Executive Council.

“This flagship demand has become one of the longest pending issues in labour history,” JOHESU stated. “Even after a high-level committee submitted its report to the Presidential Committee on Salaries in 2022, no action has been taken. In 2025 alone, the FG has promised and failed to deliver on four separate timelines to convene the PCS.”

The statement also condemned the alleged “discriminatory treatment” of JOHESU representatives at a recent tripartite meeting at the Federal Ministry of Finance. The union claimed that Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, refused to allow JOHESU to make submissions after entertaining the grievances of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

“This behaviour is antithetical to the principles of industrial harmony,” the statement read. “We have shown patience and empathy for the sake of Nigerians who depend on the health system, but our goodwill has not been reciprocated.”

Consequently, JOHESU said it would resume its suspended strike of October 30, 2024, if the government fails to issue a circular approving CONHESS adjustment before the ultimatum expires.

“Effective from midnight of Friday, November 14, 2025, all JOHESU members across the country shall withdraw their services from all health facilities,” the statement concluded.