Get Guardian on Google• Labour veterans wade into Ajaero, Osifo feud
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has threatened a fresh round of industrial action in the health sector over the Federal Government’s failure to implement the agreed adjustment to the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), despite the unions suspending their 84-day strike last February.
Also, opinion leaders, past presidents of industrial unions, and other critical stakeholders have intervened in the feud between the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Festus Osifo, over the N70,000 transport allowance approved for civil servants.
Speaking on the matter in Abuja, yesterday, the immediate past President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, however, declined to share details of the mediation, but just said the two labour leaders had been told to sheathe their swords.
Again, he did not reveal whether the duo had been summoned to a meeting, the date, or the possible venue.
President of the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Dr Kabiru Sani, said the Federal Government had failed to honour the Terms of Settlement (ToS) signed with JOHESU, particularly the commitment to implement the CONHESS adjustment in April 2026.
Sani, who spoke at the 52nd National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of MHWUN in Abuja yesterday, said the government’s continued delay had undermined the agreement that led to the suspension of the prolonged industrial action.
He recalled that JOHESU suspended its 84-day strike on February 5, 2026, after signing the ToS with the Federal Government, which provided a framework for addressing the union’s demands.
However, he said the promised April implementation date had passed without the adjustment being made.
According to him, JOHESU has also demanded the payment of outstanding arrears owed to its members, including workers in non-hospital-based health institutions and agencies, as well as the inauguration of governing boards of federal health institutions.
The MHWUN president warned that the government’s handling of the agreement could trigger another disruption in healthcare services, insisting that the suspension of the previous strike should not be interpreted as an abandonment of the workers’ demands.
