Health workers across Nigeria have declared that their ongoing strike will not be suspended until the Federal Government reviews the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS). Union leaders made this firm declaration during a press briefing in Abakaliki on Wednesday.
Strike Becomes Unavoidable After Government Neglect
Comrade Bertrand Ogbuani, Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI) AE-FUTHA Branch, stated that the industrial action became necessary after the Federal Government consistently failed to honor agreements made with health sector unions since 2012. The strike will continue indefinitely until the government conducts an upward review of CONHESS.
Ogbuani revealed that the salary structure for non-medical health workers was legally designed to undergo review every four years. However, for the past 12 years, no review has been conducted despite multiple promises and agreements.
Inequality in Salary Reviews Sparks Outrage
The union leader highlighted a significant disparity in how different health professionals are treated. Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for doctors has been reviewed three times since 2014, while CONHESS has never been reviewed even once during the same period.
"Are we not part of this country?" Ogbuani questioned. "It is like giving birth to twins and feeding only one. The government keeps reviewing CONMESS and abandoning CONHESS. How can workers survive under such injustice?"
Comrade Silvanus Nwankwo, Chairman of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) AE-FUTHA and Coordinator of Tertiary Health Institutions, confirmed that the strike is indefinite with no known return date until the government addresses their demands.
Government Ignored Multiple Agreements
The union leaders explained that multiple meetings, memoranda of understanding, and ultimatums have been completely ignored by government representatives. Workers cannot continue caring for patients while working on empty stomachs and struggling to provide for their families.
Despite the collapse of services in many federal hospitals, the unions maintain that the Federal Government must shoulder full responsibility for the crisis in the health sector.
"If the health sector is suffering today, it is the Federal Government that should be held responsible. We have tried dialogue for years; they only listen when we down tools," Nwankwo emphasized.
The unions also dismissed concerns about potential intimidation, salary seizures, or punitive queries, noting that such tactics have been used repeatedly by government agencies to weaken strikes but have never stood the test of time.
"We feel the pain of patients, but we also have families. No sector can function when agreements are ignored. We are only asking for what we are legally entitled to," the unions stated collectively.
For now, the strike continues without any resolution in sight. Health workers remain adamant that they will not return to work until the Federal Government reviews CONHESS, pays outstanding wage awards, and implements all pending agreements that have been dragging on for more than a decade.
