Maharashtra govt set to slap anti-strike law on medical colleges

MUMBAI: Alarmed by frequent strikes, the medical education department led by senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan is all set to bring medical teachers and officers, resident doctors, nursing staff, technicians and all employees of state-run medical colleges within the purview of the stringent Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), 2017.


"We found that strikes at government-run medical colleges are quite frequent. As a result, even routine services at these institutions get crippled. Under such circumstances, we felt it was time all services at government-run medical colleges are governed by MESMA. Once a notification is issued, staff will be restrained from resorting to strike action," a senior bureaucrat told TOI.

He said that in the past, when medical teachers and officers, nursing staff, resident doctors, technicians and employees resorted to flash strikes, all medical services would collapse, resulting in massive hardship to patients. "In Pune's BJ Medical College, we had invoked MESMA to tackle a strike. It was then felt the law should be extended to the entire state. Under the existing provisions of the act, its ambit on a group is valid for six months, but can be extended by another six months with the permission of the competent authority."

Under section 4(1) of the act, if the state government is satisfied that "in the public interest it is necessary or expedient to do so", it may, by a special order, prohibit strike in an essential service. "We are awaiting the approval of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for our proposal. Once it comes, we will issue a notification. All offences under the act are cognisable and non-bailable," he said.