Karnataka govt prohibits public servants and health personnel from strikes, refusal to work amid Covid-19

Karnataka on Monday invoked several legal provisions to prohibit public servants and health personnel from “strikes, non-cooperation, disobeying or refusal to work” and other things, keeping the Covid-19 pandemic in mind.

This diktat will apply to “any public servant, health personnel, regular, contractual and outsourced employees of the Health Department in the interest of public health,” Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar said in a notification.

The government has invoked provisions under the Disaster Management Act and the Karnataka Epidemic Disease Ordinance to keep employees from “strikes, non-cooperation, disobeying or refusal to work related to health services, non-submission of reports, non-compliance to the orders issued by higher authorities,” the notification said.

The notification also pointed out that disobeying or refusing work entrusted by a superior officer on Covid-19 would amount to a violation of the provisions of the Karnataka State Civil Services (Prevention of Strikes) Act.

Last month, more than 5,000 government doctors launched an indefinite strike threatening to shut outpatient services and stop releasing daily Covid-19 data. They rescinded after senior ministers intervened.

The government hopes that the notification barring health personnel from striking work would help contain the Covid-19 pandemic even as cases continue to rise.