The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have issued a final 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant government agencies to immediately implement the long-overdue adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).
The labour unions warned that failure to comply within the stipulated period would trigger a nationwide industrial action across the health sector.
The ultimatum was announced in a joint press statement released on Friday and signed by the Secretary-General of the TUC, Comrade General NA Toro, and the Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Comrade Benson Upah.
In the statement, the labour centres condemned what they described as the persistent and deliberate refusal of the Federal Government to implement the report of the Technical Committee on CONHESS, which was submitted in 2021. The committee was chaired by the Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
According to the unions, the continued delay can no longer be regarded as an administrative oversight but a clear act of injustice, bad faith, and institutional disrespect toward health workers and organised labour.
They lamented that more than five years after the submission of the report, health workers continue to face hardship, frustration, and inequality due to the government’s failure to act.
The labour centres also criticised what they termed selective implementation of salary policies within the health sector. They noted that while the government promptly adjusted the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for medical doctors with effect from January 2, 2014, it has consistently refused to implement the corresponding adjustment for CONHESS.
“This selective justice and discriminatory application of policy within the same sector expose the insincerity of the government’s commitment to fairness, equity, and industrial harmony,” the statement said.
The unions further revealed that repeated engagements and restraint by labour leaders, in the interest of maintaining industrial peace, have been met with what they described as arrogant silence from the Federal Ministry of Health.
As a result, the TUC and NLC declared a “final and irrevocable” 14-day ultimatum, effective from January 23, 2026, demanding the immediate implementation of the 2021 Technical Committee report on CONHESS, in line with existing precedents within the health sector.
They warned that failure to meet their demands within the ultimatum period would force organised labour to mobilise workers nationwide for a total and coordinated industrial action.
According to the statement, the action would include mass protests, picketing of health institutions and government offices, as well as a nationwide withdrawal of services until the matter is decisively addressed.
TUC, NLC Issue 14-Day Ultimatum to FG Over Delayed CONHESS Adjustment
