Health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) in Lagos State have remained on strike for more than two months due to unresolved issues bordering on salary structures, professional recognition and welfare, the union has said.
Speaking in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the Secretary of the Lagos State Council of JOHESU, Adegboyega Kabiawu, said the strike, which began on 3 December 2025 after the expiration of a mandatory 15-day notice, followed the government’s failure to implement agreed local demands.
According to him, although the Lagos State Government initially appealed for the suspension of the strike and held a follow-up meeting shortly after it began, engagement later stalled, with the union receiving “silence from the government, despite several correspondence from our side.”
Mr Kabiawu explained that JOHESU’s demands include the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) at the national level, as well as five long-standing local issues in Lagos, such as the domestication of the consultancy pharmacist cadre, creation of a Directorate of Medical Laboratory Services, equitable payment of retention allowances, correction of call-duty and shift-duty allowance calculations, and improved staff transportation.
He said JOHESU members constitute about 85 per cent of the health workforce, meaning the strike affects most public health facilities, but stressed that the action was unavoidable. “What we are demanding is fairness, equity and respect for agreements already reached,” he said, adding that the union would suspend the strike if the state government presents a “clear and concrete memorandum of understanding” addressing the issues, noting, “We remain open to reconciliation.”