ENUGU — Medical and administrative activities at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu (FNHE) ground to a halt on Tuesday, followed the commencement of an indefinite strike action by the institution’s healthcare workers.
The industrial action was orchestrated by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM). The unions are protesting the implementation of a controversial “same-scale promotion” policy.
Aggrieved workers turned out in large numbers to register their displeasure. They marched from the hospital’s Boulevard area to the main gate, chanting solidarity songs and disrupting routine operations.
The demonstrators carried placards with various inscriptions demanding an immediate reversal of the 2025 promotion exercise. They argued that the current framework effectively amounts to the stagnation and demotion of hardworking staff.
The strike followed the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum served to the hospital’s management on April 27, 2026. The unions had used the grace period to demand the total withdrawal of the contentious promotion guidelines.
Labour Leadership Rallies Workers
Addressing the gathering, Comrade Innocent Ejike, representing the Enugu State Chairman of NANNM, assured the striking workers of the absolute support of the state labor leadership. He insisted that institutional injustice against workers would not be tolerated.
”As far as we’re concerned, what is wrong will never stand,” Ejike declared. “If they’re working against you, they’re working against all of us, and we will never allow that to stand.”
The labor leader urged the workers to remain steadfast, united, and disciplined throughout the duration of the struggle. He warned that internal division among the unions would only serve to weaken their collective bargaining power.
Ejike further criticized the logic of the promotion exercise, questioning how an employee could pass an advancement test only to be retained in the same grade. “There’s no way somebody will go through the rudiments and process of promotion exams and you still keep him in the same position. That is another name for stagnation,” he added.
Historical Precedents and Warnings
Also speaking at the protest ground, a prominent labor leader, Comrade Chukwuemeka Edwin, stated that the joint unions were at the facility to demonstrate unalloyed solidarity with the local chapters. He recalled a similar industrial dispute that occurred at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, in 2011.
According to Edwin, workers at the orthopaedic hospital successfully resisted attempts to deny them “skipping” benefits during promotions under the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS). He warned that organized labor would fiercely resist any attempt to revive the outdated policy at the FNHE.
”What they did to us then was that people moving from CONHESS 10 to 11 were promoted to the same CONHESS 10, while those moving from 11 to 12 were retained on the same level of 11,” Edwin explained. “We resisted it completely.”
The labor veteran expressed shock that such an administrative anomaly would resurface in 2026. “After 15 years of that dark era, we are now seeing the same thing being implemented at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu. It will never happen,” he declared.
Edwin categorically described the implementation of the same-scale promotion as illegal. He maintained that healthcare promotion remained a non-negotiable area for union representatives.
”The only thing that should call you back from this strike is the withdrawal of that letter,” Edwin told the cheering crowd of protesting workers.
Exhausted Avenues for Dialogue
On his part, the Chairman of the National Union of Allied Health Workers and Professionals in the hospital, Asogwa Benjamin, stated that the strike was a last resort. He explained that the unions only took action after exhausting all available avenues for peaceful dialogue with the hospital’s management.
”After the 21-day ultimatum, we still gave a grace period of two days,” Benjamin revealed. “So, we are constrained to take up this last option to protect our members.”
Similarly, the Acting Chairman of NANNM at the hospital, Comrade Ajiri Okezie, emphasized that the workers were not asking for favors but demanding their legitimate rights. He noted that wide consultations were held before the strike was declared.
”Promotion is not a privilege but a right,” Okezie stated firmly. He went on to instruct the workers to stay away from their duty posts, saying, “Until you hear from us, don’t come to work.”
Violations of Federal Directives
The Acting Chairman of JOHESU and Senior Staff Association leader, Cletus Nwankwo, also threw his weight behind the industrial action. He described the workers’ decision to shut down services as completely justified under the circumstances.
In the original April 27 ultimatum, jointly signed by the leaders of the JOHESU affiliates and NANNM, the management was accused of subjecting workers to unfair labor practices during the 2025 promotion exercise. The unions restated that the policy was designed to stagnate careers.
The striking workers anchored their current demands on an official circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2017. The circular was the product of a memorandum of terms of settlement reached with JOHESU after a nationwide strike.
The historical document, dated October 3, 2017, was signed on behalf of the Minister of Health by Dr. W. D. Balami, the then-Head of the Department of Hospital Services. The ministry had expressly directed all federal health institutions to stop same-scale promotions in accordance with Public Service Rules.
Furthermore, the 2017 directive instructed hospital management to pay all accumulated arrears of “skipping” and other withheld allowances owed to health workers. Union leaders argue that the current administration at FNHE is in direct violation of this federal directive.
As of the time of filing this report, the management of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, had yet to issue an official response to the allegations or the ongoing strike action.(News Makers.Com)
