Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA)

09.12.2023

Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) , Daily Current Affairs , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow 

   Why in the news?

The Odisha Government recently invoked the Orissa Essential Services (Maintenance) Act (ESMA) prohibiting strikes by paramedical staff, including nurses, pharmacists, technicians, Class III and IV employees, to ensure that medical services are not disrupted..

About the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA):

• It is an act of the Indian Parliament enacted in 1968 to assure the supply of certain services that, if impeded, would harm people’s daily lives.
• It is enforced to prohibit striking employees from refusing to work in certain essential services. Employees cannot cite bandhs or a curfew as an excuse not to report to work.

Implementation:

• The ESMA is a law made by the Parliament of India under List No. 33 in the Concurrent List of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India.
• Although it is a very powerful law, its execution rests entirely on the discretion of the State government. Each state in the union of India hence has a separate state Essential Services Maintenance Act with slight variations from the central law in its provisions. This freedom is accorded by the central law itself.

Objective:

•  It was established to ensure the delivery of certain services, which if obstructed would affect the normal life of the people.
• These include services like public transport (bus services), health services (doctors and hospitals).
• ESMA gives police right to arrest without a warrant anybody violating the Act’s provisions.

What are the essential services under ESMA Act?

• Essential services get defined as any service for which the Parliament has the jurisdiction to establish legislation or the government believes that its cessation would jeopardise the preservation of life-sustaining supplies and services. The following are examples of essential services:

○some service for the mail, telegraph, or telephone

○any service relating to aircraft operation or maintenance, or aircraft ○operation, repair, or maintenance

○any railway service, or other transport services authorised by Parliament to ○make laws for the transportation of passengers or goods by land, water, or air

○any operation relating to the clearance or prevention of smuggling of goods or passengers

○any loading, unloading, transportation, or storage service in any port

Which services fall under this category?

• Services relating to public conservation, sanitation, water supply, hospitals, or national defence are essential.
• Any establishment involved in producing, delivering, or distributing petroleum, coal, electricity, steel, or fertiliser also gets classified as providing essential services. Aside from that, any banking-related service may be subject to ESMA.
• This statute also applies to communication and transportation services and any government initiative relating to the acquisition and distribution of food grains.
• State governments, acting alone or collaborating with other state governments, can enforce their respective acts in specified territories.
• Each state has its own ESMA, with provisions that differ slightly from the federal statute.
• As a result, if the nature of the strike disturbs only one or more states, the states can initiate it.
• The Act also allows states to choose the essential services on which to enforce ESMA.
• In a nationwide interruption, particularly involving railways, the central government may activate the ESMA.

What actions can be taken against the employees?

• Persons who commence the strike as well as those who instigate it are liable to disciplinary action, which may include dismissal.
• As the strike becomes illegal after ESMA is invoked, legal action can also be taken against these employees.
• Any police officer is empowered to arrest the striking person without a warrant.
• Persons participating in or instigating the strike are punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

What is the Essential Commodity Act?

• The Essential Commodity Act empowers the government to control production, supply and distribution of certain commodities.
• The act is aimed at maintaining or increasing supplies and for securing the equitable distribution and fair price availability of these commodities.
• The act is also intended to work against unethical trade practices like hoarding and black-marketing.