TUC Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Withheld JOHESU Salaries

 

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has threatened to mobilise workers nationwide following the federal government’s decision to stop the salaries of striking members of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

The Ministry of Health, on January 9, issued a ‘no work, no pay’ directive to all Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors (MDs) of federal hospitals, targeting JOHESU members who have been on strike.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, TUC President Festus Osifo condemned the directive, describing it as provocative and inconsistent with established industrial relations practices.

Osifo said the circular, which instructs the stoppage of salaries through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), was reckless and intended to intimidate health workers.

“This is not policy; it is intimidation. Congress will not negotiate with workers while punishment is simultaneously inflicted on them,” he said.

The TUC president added that withholding the salaries of workers who sustain the nation’s healthcare system amid poor working conditions was “wicked, insensitive and unpatriotic,” especially against the backdrop of rising inflation and fuel prices.

Osifo warned that the government’s action undermined ongoing negotiations with organised labour and that dialogue cannot coexist with punitive measures. He described the use of IPPIS to withhold pay as an abuse of state machinery that would be resisted by workers.

He called for the immediate withdrawal of the circular and the unconditional restoration of all affected salaries. Osifo further demanded that the Ministry of Health return to negotiations within seven days to avert industrial unrest. Failure to do so, he said, would compel TUC to take decisive nationwide action.

“All TUC affiliates, state councils and the FCT council have been placed on red alert. The responsibility for any disruption of services lies squarely with the Ministry of Health for choosing confrontation over dialogue,” he concluded.