ESMA Act and Punishment Provisions

The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA full form) is an act of the Indian Parliament that was enacted to assure the supply of certain services that, if blocked, would have a negative impact on people's daily lives. This includes services such as public transportation (buses) and health care (doctors and hospitals). The ESMA is a statute enacted by the Parliament of India under List No. 33 in the Concurrent List of the 7th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. As a result, it preserves national homogeneity by providing the bare minimum of needed services across the country. State governments, acting alone or in collaboration with other state governments, can enforce their respective acts in specified territories. 

Each state has its own Essential Services Maintenance Act, 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. In the event of a nationwide interruption, particularly involving railways, the central government may activate the Essential Services Maintenance Act enacted in 1968. Despite the fact that it is a highly strong statute with the ability to crush legitimate employee demands, its enforcement is entirely at the discretion of the State administration in normal situations. In India, the law has seen limited application, with several strikes by public transportation providers or personnel, physicians, or government officials going on for weeks without the Union or State governments invoking ESMA.

If you are wondering what essential services are and how are, they provided, keep reading the article.

Essential Services Meaning

Essential services may refer to a group of vocations that have been designated by a government as having particular limits on labour activities, such as the right to strike. An essential service is distinguished from a minimal service by the International Labour Office, a United Nations institution.

Depending on the organisation or government, vital services may include hospitals and other healthcare facilities, utilities such as power and water supply, law enforcement and firefighting, and food services.

Essential services meaning refers to services that are critical to a population's health and welfare and so must be maintained even in the event of a calamity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several jurisdictions ordered the closure of non-essential services for many weeks in order to prevent the virus's spread. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security released a nationwide guideline paper that specified actions that the Agency judged to be "important" to the containment of the pandemic and the management of its consequences.

Which Services are Covered by ESMA?

i) Any service in any of the Government of India's defence establishments;

(ii) Any mail, telephone, or telegraph service;

(iii) Any railway service or other transport services for the conveyance of people or commodities by air, land, or water over which Parliament has legislative authority;

(iv) Any service related to the transit or storage of commodities, as well as the loading and unloading of products in any port,

(v) Any service related to the operation or maintenance of aerodromes, as well as the repair or maintenance of aircraft and their operation;

(vi) Any service provided by any mint or security press;

(vii) Any service in connection with the Union's business.

(viii) Any service related to customs clearance of goods or persons or the prevention of smuggling;

ESMA State Laws

Andhra Pradesh, 1971: Introduced in the state of Andhra Pradesh, so as to provide for the maintenance of certain essential services and the normal life of the community. Since 1971, this Act has been in effect.

Kerala, 1974: Kerala's Essential Services Maintenance Act was enacted in 1994. This is the law that has been in force in Kerala since 1994. As is customary, it differs slightly from the primary Act in terms of legal requirements. The Kerala Essential Services Maintenance Ordinance of 1993 was in place prior to this statute.

Rajasthan, 1970: This law is known as RESMA (Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act) in Rajasthan (1970).

Karnataka, 1994: Karnataka's government passed the Karnataka Essential Services Maintenance Act in 1994, and it has been in effect since April 16, 1994. According to section 1(3), the legislation had a ten-year lifespan and expired on April 15, 2004. The Karnataka government has threatened to activate the Act several times since then, despite the fact that it expired in 2004. According to the 28 May 2015 gazette announcement, Esma has been reintroduced in Karnataka with effect from 09/06/2015. The duration is currently one year from the date of the Act's enactment and can be extended for another six months. The state, on the other hand, has the authority to impose the core law without change until it enacts a new law that is appropriate for it. The Karnataka government intends to revive ESMA with the Karnataka Essential Services Maintenance Bill, 2013, which will be introduced in the legislature's winter session.

Uttar Pradesh, 1966: The Uttar Pradesh Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1966 (U.P. Act 30 of 1966) is followed by the state and was modified in 1982 and 1983. This Act has no sunset clause and is imposed from time to time for six months at a time under section 3(1) of the Act. It was recently enforced on May 22, 2020, November 25, 2020, and May 25, 2021.

What is ESMA Act and Punishment Provisions?

Let us take a look at the punishment provisions.

1. Strikes are illegal and penalised if they occur after the establishment of ESMA. Following the implementation of ESMA under the Criminal Procedure Act of 1898 (5 of 1898), any employee may be arrested without a warrant by any police officer.

2. According to this act, if overtime labour is necessary to maintain any essential service, the employee cannot refuse it.

3. Anyone who encourages others to join the strike faces a year in prison, a fine of up to a thousand rupees, or both.

4. Any person who knowingly provides financial assistance to a strike that is illegal under this Act is punished by imprisonment for a term of up to one year, a fine of up to one thousand rupees, or both.

For six months, this statute outlaws strikes in all state government agencies and companies. An official spokesman stated that a notification to this effect was sent on Tuesday. This Act merely provides state police with the authority to arrest anybody who violates its provisions without a warrant. According to the state government's official announcement, strikes have been prohibited with immediate effect on all public services, including large companies and municipal governments owned or controlled by the state government. Throughout May of last year, the UP administration invoked the ESMA in the state for a six-month period. On November 25, 2020, the provisions were extended for another six months.