The Odisha government on Monday invoked the Essential Services Maintenance (ESMA) Act to prohibit strikes by nurses, pharmacists, paramedics and others in order to ensure that medical services across the state are not disrupted.
As per the latest notification issued by the Home (Special Section) Department, it is necessary to prohibit strikes in the form of cessation of work by nurses, pharmacists, paramedics and other Class III and IV employees, including contractual employees in services connected with maintenance of medical services in the government hospitals and dispensaries in district headquarter hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and others.
Those staff working at Community Health Centre, Primary Health Centres, Municipality Hospitals, ESI hospitals, Medical Colleges and Hospitals, specifically AHRCC, Regional Spinal Injury Centre including Jail hospitals, Police hospitals are also covered under the prohibition.
"As per Section 2 (b) of the Odisha Essential Services (Maintenance) Act 1988, cessation of work by a body of persons employed in any essential service acting in combination or a concerted refusal or refusal under a common understanding of any number of persons who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment and includes unauthorised absence from duty in pursuance of a common understanding among the persons who unauthorisedly absent themselves from duty or under the direction of any other person or persons," the notification read.
“In exercise of the power conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 read with section 2 of the Odisha Essential Services (Maintenance) Act 1988 (Odisha Act 9 of 1992), the state government do herby prohibit strikes in the aforesaid services. The order shall remain in force for a period of six months with effect from the date of issue,” the notification added.