A hardhanded response that strikes at the root of rights

An estimated 19 lakh government and semi-government employees, including those in schools, colleges, zilla parishads, and government hospitals, to name a few, have been on strike demanding that the government return to the Old Pension Scheme ; they have been on the National Pension Scheme since 2005. An unchanged response Since 1960, the government’s approach, be it central or State government, to strikes by their employees has been to invoke ESMA, or the Essential Services Maintenance Act. In fact, private sector employers argue, not without reason, that the government which is supposed to be a model employer, often uses its elaborate legislative and police powers, while in contrast, they do not have any choice but to face a strike in the industrial relations sense and attempt negotiations with striking employees. The committee recognises “a general right to strike” while allowing for an imposition of restrictions on strikes by some categories of public servants and workers in essential services. The point of alternate dispute mechanisms According to the Committee, employees in essential services do not enjoy the right to strike.