CONHESS: TUC, NLC gives Health Ministry 2 weeks ultimatum over unmet demands

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 over the delay in implementing the report of the Technical Committee on the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS, which was submitted in 2021.

The unions made this known in a statement jointly signed by the TUC Secretary General, Mr Nuhu Toro, and the NLC Acting General Secretary, Mr Benson Upah, on Saturday in Abuja.

According to the statement, the unions are demanding the immediate implementation of the CONHESS report, which was chaired by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

The report was set up to address salary imbalances and long-standing pay complaints among health workers across the country.

“Health workers have waited long enough for over five years. The Ministry must act without further delay. Failure to implement the CONHESS report is a direct affront to organised labour and the hardworking health professionals who sustain the nation,” the statement said.

Describing the continued delay as a deliberate act of injustice against health workers, the unions noted that the non-implementation reflects bad faith and institutional disrespect for organised labour.

They also recalled that similar adjustments under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, were implemented promptly.

According to the unions, “The selective application of salary adjustments exposes government’s insincerity and discrimination.”

They further highlighted repeated engagements and interventions with the Ministry of Health that have yielded no response, warning that failure to act within the 14-day deadline will trigger nationwide industrial action.

“We have exercised restraint for years, but our patience has run out. The Ministry must act now. Should the government fail to implement the CONHESS report within the stipulated period, organised labour will mobilise all Nigerian workers for coordinated industrial action,” the statement added.

The unions said potential industrial actions could include mass protests, picketing of health institutions, and withdrawal of services across the country.

They emphasized that health workers’ labour sustains the nation and cannot continue to be ignored.

“Bureaucratic excuses and promises without action will no longer be tolerated. TUC and NLC therefore place all affiliates, including state councils and the FCT, on red alert for mobilisation,” the statement read.

The unions urged the government to avert avoidable industrial action by complying with the ultimatum within the 14-day period.

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