UP: Yogi govt bars government employees from going on strikes, disrupting services

On Friday (6th December), the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), barring employees from participating in strikes for the next 6 months.

According to reports, the order prevents officers and employees associated with government services from going on hartals. The UP government had taken the decision in the public interest.

The development comes ahead of the strike organised by the Electricity Department employees on Saturday (7th December) against the decision to run Purvanchal and Dakshinchal Distribution Corporations on the PPP model.

The Yogi Adityanath govt had previously issued a similar order in February 2024 amid large-scale farmer strikes by many union organisations.