Saturday, February 7, 2026 - The Joint Health Sector Unions has warned against victimization of its members after suspending its 84 days nationwide strike.
The union called off the strike at the end of its expanded
National Executive Council emergency meeting held in Abuja on Friday.
The meeting was convened to review the outcomes of the
Federal Government-JOHESU conciliation meeting held on Thursday at the Federal
Ministry of Labour and Employment headquarters.
In a communique issued after the meeting, JOHESU said the
strike had been suspended to “allow for the implementation of the FG-JOHESU
Terms of Settlements.”
JOHESU commenced its strike on November 15,2025.
The strike, which entered its 84th day on Friday, paralysed
activities in government-owned hospitals across the country, leaving patients
stranded and forcing many to seek essential medical services outside public
health facilities.
The protracted strike also triggered a 14-day ultimatum
issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress in
solidarity with the health workers.
While giving the outcome of the reconcilliatory meeting, the
JOHESU leadership noted that it was agreed that, “the ongoing CBA negotiation,
shall be structured to appraise all identified defects, gabs and implementation
failures especially between 2009 and 2026.
“Outstanding issues connected to the implementation of the
adjustment of CONHESS shall kick start the CBA under the exclusive auspices of
JOHESU members without any delay.
“Budgetary allocation to take care of the implementation of
the adjustment of CONHESS must form a cardinal part and projection of the 2026
Appropriation Act based on the existing template provided by the Technical
Committee report of the High level body of the Federal government set-up by the
FMoH in 2021.
“Immediate withdrawal of the ‘NO WORK, NO PAY’ directive
issued in relation to the JOHESU Strike. Sequel to the above the January 2026
salaries of JOHESU members must be paid immediately.
“No member of JOHESU/AHPA that participated in this current
strike shall be victimized, sanctioned or intimidated on the basis of their
involvement in the strike.”
The union noted that after exhaustive deliberations and
review of the terms of settlement of the conciliation meeting, the expanded NEC
in session voted unanimously to suspend the strike action to allow for the
implementation of the FG-JOHESU terms of settlement.
In its conclusion, JOHESU conveyed thanked prominent
Nigerians and institutions that intervened to halt the strike in the national
interest.
The union listed them to include Senator Godswill Akpabio,
President of the Senate; Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abass, Speaker, House of
Representatives; Chairman Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ipalibo Banigo;
Chairman House Committee on Health Institutions, Hon. Amos Magaji; the Chairman
and members of the Committee of CMDs/MDs; the leadership of various
professional bodies and notable traditional rulers around the country, most
especially the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Enitan, Ojaja 2.
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