Haryana Govt Invokes ESMA, Prohibits Doctors' Strike for Six Months

The Haryana government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), banning strikes by HCMS doctors and Health Department staff for six months to protect public health. The salaries of striking employees are also being suspended.

The Haryana government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act to restrict the Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS) doctors' strike. These orders prohibit doctors and Health Department employees from going on strike for six months.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 4(a) of the Haryana Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1974 (40 of 1974), the Governor of Haryana hereby prohibits any strike by doctors and any other category of staff working under the Health Department, Haryana, for a period of six months from the date of publication of this order in the Official Gazette," the notice by Haryana government Chief Secretary read.

Governor Cites Public Health Concerns

Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh issued the order after the strike affected public health and essential services. The order said, "Whereas, the Governor of Haryana is satisfied that any strike by doctors or any other category of staff of the Health Department, Haryana, would seriously affect public health and essential services for the life of the community, in order to ensure patient care for critically ill and other patients and to maintain the uninterrupted provision of essential medical services to the general public."

"And whereas, the Governor of Haryana is further satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest to prohibit any strike by doctors and other categories of staff of the Health Department, Haryana, to ensure the safety of patient care and the continuity of essential medical services," the order read.

'No Work, No Pay' Policy Implemented

Meanwhile, the Director General of Health Services in Haryana issued an order suspending the salaries of employees on strike, on the principle of "no work, no pay."

"As per the instructions issued by the government, the 'No Work, No Pay' policy is applicable to the striking employees/officers. Therefore, you are directed not to release the salaries of the doctors who participated in the strike until further orders," the order said.

Minister Assures Services Uninterrupted Amid Talks

Earlier on Monday, Haryana Minister Arti Singh Rao stated that the doctors went on a two-day strike over several demands. She added that the government has accepted some of the demands and is in discussions on the remaining ones.

Rao said, "We are deploying doctors from many places. We have deployed all our NHM (National Health Mission) doctors. Additionally, we have deployed our Ayushman Bharat doctors. There is no place where OPD (Outpatient Department), IPD (Inpatient Department), or emergency services are not running. They (doctors) called for a two-day strike, and the government has agreed to their demands. They have many demands, and we have accepted those we could; the remaining demands are still under discussion."

"The government is also under considerable pressure to meet the demands. The government will talk to the doctors, and if we can reach a conclusion, this strike will end soon. Our services are running very smoothly. We've set up war rooms in every district. We're ensuring that all our operations run smoothly across every district," the Haryana Minister said. (ANI)

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