Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against striking state government employees even as their indefinite stir over a 15-point charter of demands continued for the eighth day.
ESMA has been invoked to crack down on the striking staffers, a government spokesman said. Enacted in 1968, ESMA is aimed at maintaining essential services like post and telegraph, railways, airports, etc., and prohibits the key employees in these services from striking.
Meanwhile, the striking employees held meetings on Tuesday morning where they raised slogans against the state government for allegedly having shown no desire to end the stalemate, said the leader of Rajya Karamchari Adhikar Manch, Harikishore Tiwari.
He said that although the striking employees were ready for talks, they should be held in a positive atmosphere and involve no less than the chief secretary and chief minister of the state. Talking about the impact of the strike, Tiwari said that departments like those dealing with trade tax, education, irrigation and PWD, among others, were finding it difficult to function normally. And, with the health department staff now joining the strike, the seriousness of the stir had only increased, Tiwari added.
Some health department employees belonging to the lab technicians' association joined the strike on Tuesday.
However, a government spokesman said that work in offices, including in the health department, was going on smoothly even as he reiterated that the door was open for talks with the disgruntled employees.
Meanwhile, during his visit to Unnao on Tuesday, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that since the issue of the strike was now in court, his government would adhere by judicial orders in this regard.
Chief Secretary Javed Usmani has already warned that strict action would be taken against all those who forcibly hamper official work. Earlier, leaders of the striking employees and Principal Secretary (Personnel) Rajiv Kumar failed to come to an understanding at a November 13 meeting.
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