The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to immediately withdraw its controversial “No Work, No Pay” circular and restore the salaries of members of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).
Naija News reports that the TUC warned that failure to comply with its demands would trigger mass industrial resistance nationwide.
In a joint statement signed by the President-General of the TUC, Festus Osifo, and the Secretary-General, N. A. Toro, the union described the directive as “reckless, authoritarian, and confrontational.”
The circular, issued by the Director of Hospital Services, Dr. Abisola Adegoke, directed the stoppage of JOHESU members’ salaries through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) starting from January 2026.
According to the TUC, the action represents “a gross abuse of power, a deliberate sabotage of ongoing negotiations, and a flagrant violation of established industrial relations principles.”
The Congress stated that the circular amounts to a direct declaration of hostility against Nigerian workers, particularly health workers who continue to shoulder the burden of a struggling healthcare system under harsh conditions.
The union accused the Ministry of acting in bad faith by negotiating with workers on one hand while imposing punitive measures on the other.
“You cannot negotiate with workers on one hand and unleash punishment on the other. This circular is not policy; it is intimidation, and Congress will not accept it,” the TUC said.
The TUC further condemned the stoppage of salaries as “wicked, insensitive, provocative, and profoundly unpatriotic,” especially amid rising inflation, fuel price hikes, and worsening economic hardship.
“These are workers who save lives daily. To deny them their salaries is to punish sacrifice and reward suffering,” the statement added.
Warning against what it termed the “weaponisation of IPPIS,” the union stressed that using state machinery to starve workers into submission is unacceptable.
The TUC issued a final and non-negotiable demand that the Ministry must withdraw the circular, fully restore affected salaries, and return to the negotiation table within seven days.
Failure to do so, the union said, would force it to mobilise workers across sectors for decisive nationwide action, adding that any resulting disruption of services would rest squarely on the Ministry’s leadership.
The Congress confirmed that all its national, state, and FCT structures have been placed on alert.
Reaffirming its solidarity with JOHESU, the TUC declared:
“The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria stands shoulder-to-shoulder with JOHESU and all Nigerian workers. An injury to one is an injury to all.”
