Allied health workers prepare for strike, but no start date is set
Illustration: allied health professionals discuss outstanding workplace issues.
Allied health workers in Nigeria have been directed to prepare for possible renewed industrial action, but the latest union communiqué does not set a date for a walkout. For patients, that is the key distinction: the notice signals mobilisation, not a confirmed nationwide hospital shutdown.
The Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) issued the directive after its National Executive Council met in Enugu from October 21 to 22. The communiqué, reported by Punch and TheCable, tells members to prepare for possible resumption of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) strike after a labour ultimatum expired on October 23. Neither report gives a strike start date.
What the union says is still unresolved
NUAHP says the adjustment to the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) remains outstanding. It is also seeking 19 months of arrears from reviewed professional allowances, call-duty allowances for eligible groups it says have been left out, and promotion of qualified staff from CONHESS grade level 14 to 15.
The call-duty claim concerns health information management professionals, medical social workers, speech therapists and audiologists, according to the union’s statement as reported by Punch. Those demands are the union’s account; the reports do not independently establish each worker’s eligibility or the amounts owed.
Why the February agreement matters
This dispute follows an 84-day JOHESU strike that began on November 14, 2025, and was suspended in February after talks with the Federal Government. Voice of Nigeria reported on February 7 that the unions had suspended the action after an agreement. NUAHP says the latest mobilisation is intended to press for commitments it believes remain unfulfilled.
The government’s published account from January described a different stage of the talks. The Federal Ministry of Information said on January 24 that a job-evaluation exercise for health professionals, begun in November 2025, was expected to take six months before salary-adjustment discussions. That statement predates the February settlement and does not answer NUAHP’s latest allegations. The materials reviewed for this report did not include a government response to the new communiqué.
What patients should watch next
For now, patients should not treat the mobilisation notice as confirmation that appointments or hospital services will stop. NUAHP has asked members to prepare, but the reports of its communiqué do not identify a date, a formal instruction to withdraw services, or which facilities would be affected if action resumes.
The union’s next step and any response from government will determine whether the warning develops into a strike notice. CrispNG’s report on the wider NLC-government talks explains the separate labour-centre timeline; those talks should not be mistaken for a confirmed JOHESU strike date.
Sources
- Punch, October 24, 2026: NUAHP demands and strike mobilisation
- TheCable, October 23, 2026: NUAHP communiqué and membership context
- Federal Ministry of Information, January 24, 2026: government account of the earlier CONHESS process
- Voice of Nigeria, February 7, 2026: suspension of the 84-day JOHESU strike