Latest news with #HaryanaEssentialServicesAct
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh admn imposes ESMA at PGI to prohibit strikes
The Chandigarh administration on Monday evening invoked the Haryana Essential Services Act, 1974, to thwart various employee unions from going on strike. The Punjab and Haryana high court has repeatedly stepped in and stayed the strike notices, remarking that pendency of any service dispute cannot become cause for an employee to abstain from work in a hospital, which is an essential service. (File) Issuing an order, UT chief secretary Rajeev Verma said the Act was being invoked to ensure proper services or maintaining supplies, public safety, health or sanitation and the maintenance of public order, necessary for the life of community at large. The order will remain in force for six months. The hospital administration and various employee unions have been at loggerheads over a host of issues, including arrears, salary and service conditions for years together now, resulting in frequent strike calls. The Punjab and Haryana high court has repeatedly stepped in and stayed the strike notices, remarking that pendency of any service dispute cannot become cause for an employee to abstain from work in a hospital, which is an essential service. Even on August 7, the high court restrained the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of PGIMER Contract Workers' Union from resorting to any strike, abstentions or protest in the future. Disposing of a clutch of petitions from PGIMER, filed against strike calls by employee unions given on different dates since 2024, the court also prohibited JAC from using the hospital premises for furthering the union activities except at designated places. 'By no means, the union activities will obstruct or hinder the uninterrupted movement of patients, their family members, doctors, visitors, etc. within PGIMER, Chandigarh,' the court said, adding that in case of breach of the order, the authorities will proceed to initiate the process of cancellation of their registration. '…it would be pertinent to observe that PGIMER, Chandigarh is a premier institute of national importance, which is catering to patients not only from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh but also from various states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, etc,' the court said while passing the order.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
UT declares all PGI employment as essential
Chandigarh: UT chief secretary on Monday declared all employment at the PGI an "essential service," extending the Haryana Essential Services Act, 1974, to Chandigarh. The move prohibits any strikes by PGI staff. This is the first time the Act was invoked without an official strike notice from any union. The notification follows a 2024 public interest litigation (PIL) filed by PGI, which led to a Punjab and Haryana high court ruling on August 7 this year. The court noted that PGI services weren't previously declared essential under the East Punjab Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1947, yet it pre-emptively barred unions from future strikes or protests. The decision comes amidst an ongoing legal dispute with the PGI union president, Ashwani Munjal, who was banned from campus. The high court, while addressing Munjal's challenge, has permitted union activities only within their designated office space and explicitly forbidden any actions that would obstruct patient care or movement within the institute. According to Munjal, the recent court ruling and subsequent notification vindicate the union's decades-long position that ESMA was not previously applicable to PGI. However, he acknowledged the court's strict stance on protests, stating that any future demonstrations would be restricted to the institute's residential areas to prevent disruption of patient services. "The three decades old stand of union(s) that there is no notification imposing ESMA at PGI has been vindicated whereas PGI filed more than 6-8 CWP-PIL during 2018 to 2024 seeking orders to take action against leaders/staff under Section 6 & 7 ESMA, 1947/1968," said Munjal. He added, "The competent authority for PGI is the centre and not Chandigarh for invoking ESMA." Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
