Workers Lament Hidden Health Insurance Deductions From October Salaries

Federal workers have criticised the Federal Government for introducing mandatory health insurance deductions from their October salaries without prior notice, describing the action as a breach of due process and an unfair imposition on already strained incomes.

The controversy followed a government circular announcing the commencement of statutory contributions to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Many civil servants discovered unexplained deductions of between ₦1,000 and ₦2,000 before the clarification was issued.

In the document titled Implementation of Statutory Deduction for the National Health Insurance Scheme, the government said all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) had begun remitting contributions as required under the NHIS framework.

But workers insist the rollout lacked transparency and violated standard labour engagement practices.

Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Chris Onyeka, condemned the move, saying the government acted “questionably and highly unacceptably”.

“You cannot deduct and then inform. You notify, dialogue and then deduct. That is the right order,” he said. He argued that health insurance for federal workers “did not start today”, and if properly implemented, should be financed by the government and not through salary cuts.

Onyeka demanded that the deductions be reversed immediately and urged the government to “commit itself to due process as it concerns the welfare of Nigerian workers in all its ramifications”.

Some civil servants also questioned why deductions were introduced despite longstanding government participation in the scheme.

A federal worker and mother of three, Mercy Adams, said she was taken aback when she saw nearly ₦2,000 removed from her pay.

“It is the duty of the government to provide health insurance coverage for its workers,” she said. “The way the government went about it was not fair enough.”

The NHIS was designed to provide financial protection and expand access to healthcare. In 2022, it became mandatory for all employers and employees after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the National Health Insurance Authority Bill into law.

Legislators said the reform would create a more sustainable funding mechanism for healthcare and support Nigeria’s push for Universal Health Coverage by 2030.

Government officials maintain that the deductions will ultimately reduce workers’ out-of-pocket medical expenses and have already achieved coverage for nearly all federal employees.