Strike: JOHESU storms FMC Umuahia, re-enforces compliance
SKAiF NewsNG SNN
The Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, on Thursday stormed the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Umuahia, to monitor and ensure full compliance with the ongoing nationwide strike.
The members, carrying canes and led by the union leadership, went to different offices and chased out members who were on duty.
The JOHESU team, comprising the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, and the National Union of Allied Health Professionals, NUAHP, insisted that the strike would continue until their demands were met.
The Federal Ministry of Health had issued a “no work, no pay” directive to all Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of federal government hospitals, effective January 2026.
The health workers displayed placards with various inscriptions such as: “JOHESU strike, no justice, no retreat,” “CONHESS adjustment is sacrosanct, no going back,” among others.
The Abia State Chairman of NUAHP, Mr Chibueze Oparaocha, said his union and MHWUN, being the two major unions representing JOHESU at FMC, Umuahia, decided to monitor and ensure full compliance at the facility.
“It is statutory that we go round from time to time to ensure full compliance.
“We followed due process before embarking on this strike, and if we do not get justice, we will continue to struggle,” he said.
Also speaking, the State Chairman of MHWUN, Mr Solomon Offor, said the union was at the hospital to enforce the ongoing strike, which began on November 15, 2025.
He said the union was demanding the implementation of the 12-year-old adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS.
“We know that negotiations are ongoing between the national directorate of JOHESU and the Federal Ministry of Health, but enforcing this strike will push the government to do the needful,” Offor said.
The Chairperson of MHWUN at FMC, Umuahia, Mrs Commy Okonkwo, who expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance, thanked members for their cooperation and commitment.
She berated some members who she said sabotaged the union’s efforts, noting that it was for this reason the team decided to monitor and enforce compliance.
“The compliance is quite encouraging, and I am hopeful that the government will listen to our demands and do the needful,” she said.
