The Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act, 2023
The Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act, 2023
The Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act, 2023, regulates key public services by giving the state government authority to ban strikes, employee layoffs, and business lockouts. It applies directly to workers and employers in critical sectors, including public transportation, water, electricity, healthcare, sanitation, and government administration. This legislation matters because it prevents disruptions to services that are vital to daily community life and public safety. To ensure compliance, the law makes participation in prohibited strikes a serious, non-bailable offense, allowing the police to arrest suspected violators without a warrant and subject them to imprisonment or fines.
- 1. Short title, extent, commencement and duration.
- 2. Definitions.
- 3. Laying of notification before each House of State Legislature.
- 4. Power to prohibit strike in certain employments.
- 5. Power to prohibit lock-out in certain establishments.
- 6. Power to prohibit lay-off in certain establishments.
- 7. Penalty for illegal strike.
- 8. Penalty for instigation.
- 9. Penalty for giving financial aid to illegal strike.
- 10. Action under section 7, 8 or 9 in addition to disciplinary action.
- 11. Power to arrest without warrant and offences to be non-bailable.
- 12. Act to override other laws.
- 13. Repeal of Mah. XVIII of 2018 and saving.
PDF: pending for this language.