Healthcare professionals in federal universities have threatened to sue the Federal Government over their exclusion from the Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance, warning that any attempt to recover payments already made to them could trigger industrial action.
The Coalition of Healthcare Professionals in Tertiary Education Institutions of Nigeria said it would approach the National Industrial Court if the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission failed to reverse its November 11 circular restricting the allowance to workers on the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure.
The circular, with reference number SWC/S/04/S.149/T/187, effectively excluded medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists and other health professionals earning salaries under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure and Consolidated Health Salary Structure.
Start tomorrow informed
Save your place for the morning brief. We’ll start emailing when delivery goes live.
Free. Confirm by email. Unsubscribe anytime.
In a statement on Friday, the coalition’s National Chairman and Coordinator, Musa Shehu, said the commission had also directed federal universities to recover CONTTA arrears paid to healthcare workers in more than 13 institutions within three months.
The group described the decision as discriminatory and inconsistent with previous government directives, arguing that healthcare professionals were non-teaching employees of federal universities and legitimate members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU).
It said the disputed circular contradicted earlier directives issued by the commission on July 20, 2026, which introduced CONTTA with effect from January 1, 2026, for members of both unions without expressly excluding workers on CONMESS and CONHESS.
The coalition also cited an October 16 clarification by the Federal Ministry of Education, which it said directed that the allowance should cover all non-teaching employees, irrespective of their union affiliation.
The ministry, according to the coalition, stated that “the Budget Office of the Federation calculated the financial implications of CONTTA based on the entire workforce of the Non-teaching staff on the payroll”.
It added that the ministry warned vice-chancellors against deviating from the approved scope of funds released by the Federal Government, saying such officials could face sanctions.
The coalition questioned why healthcare workers were being excluded if the funds were calculated based on the entire non-teaching workforce. It also demanded clarification on funds allegedly budgeted and released for health workers in universities yet to implement the allowance.
The disagreement has reportedly caused tension in some university health facilities, with the coalition citing protests at the University of Lagos Medical Centre earlier in the week.
It also accused the national leaderships of SSANU and NASU of failing to defend their healthcare members despite collecting monthly check-off dues from them.
The group called on the Ministers of Education and Labour and Employment to intervene and suspend the November 11 circular.
It further warned vice-chancellors and bursars of the universities that had paid the allowance against recovering the money or making deductions from the salaries of affected workers.
The coalition said its 21-day pre-action notice to SSANU and NASU would expire on Monday, November 16, after which it would instruct its lawyers to file a representative suit at the National Industrial Court.
It said the proposed case would seek to nullify the disputed circular, compel payment of outstanding CONTTA arrears to eligible CONHESS and CONMESS workers, and prevent the recovery of allowances already paid.
The group warned that salary deductions would attract “industrial resistance across university health services”, but reaffirmed its members’ commitment to providing healthcare services to students and staff of federal universities.
Discussion0