TUC, NLC issue 14-day ultimatum over health workers’ pay

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant government agencies to implement the long-overdue adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), warning that failure to do so will result in a nationwide strike.

In a joint statement released on Friday and signed by the TUC Secretary General, Comrade General N.A. Toro, and the Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Benson Upah, the labour centres condemned what they described as the government’s “persistent and deliberate refusal” to implement the report of the Technical Committee on CONHESS, which was submitted in 2021.

According to the unions, the continued delay has gone beyond administrative lapses and now reflects bad faith and institutional disrespect toward health workers and organised labour.

They expressed concern that five years after the submission of the report, health workers under CONHESS continue to face hardship and inequality, while the government had promptly implemented the adjustment of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for medical doctors.

The labour centres described the selective implementation of salary structures within the same health sector as discriminatory and unacceptable, noting that it undermines fairness, equity, and industrial harmony.

They further accused the Ministry of Health of ignoring repeated engagements and appeals by organised labour, adding that continued excuses and inaction amount to an abuse of trust.

The TUC and NLC declared a “final and irrevocable” 14-day ultimatum, effective January 23, 2026, demanding the immediate implementation of the 2021 Technical Committee report on CONHESS.

They warned that failure to comply would force organised labour to mobilise workers nationwide for coordinated industrial action, including mass protests, picketing of health institutions and government offices, and a nationwide withdrawal of services.

The unions said they would no longer tolerate delays, broken promises, or what they described as the marginalisation of health workers, stressing that the Federal Ministry of Health would be held responsible for any consequences arising from its inaction.

Consequently, all TUC and NLC affiliates, including state councils across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, have been placed on alert and directed to begin mobilisation for nationwide action.

The labour centres urged the government to act urgently to prevent what they described as an avoidable national shutdown.