Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979

(a) any person who, on the day immediately preceding the date of such Order, was employed in that department or public corporation or local authority or co-operative society for the purposes of that service or who after that date is employed by that department or public corporation or local authority or co- operative society for the purposes of that service, fails or refuses to attend at his place of work or at such other place as may from time to time be designated by the head of that department or public corporation or local authority or co- operative society or a person acting under the authority of such head or fails or refuses to perform such work as he may be directed by the head of the department or public corporation or local authority or co-operative society or by a person acting under the authority of such head to perform or fails or refuses to perform such work within such time as is in the opinion of the head of that department or public corporation or local authority or co-operative society reasonable for the performance of such work, or

(b) any person who in any manner- (i) impedes, obstructs, delays or restricts the carrying on of that service; or (ii) impedes, obstructs or prevents any other person employed in that department or public corporation or local authority or co-operative society for the purposes of that service from attending at his place of work; or (iii) incites, induces or encourages any other person employed in that department or public corporation or local authority or co-operative society for the purposes of that service to refrain from attending at his place of work; or (iv) compels, incites, induces or encourages any other person employed in that department or public corporation or local authority or co-operative society for the purposes of that service to depart from his place of work; or (v) prevents any other person from accepting employment in, or in connection with, the carrying on of that service; or

(c) any person who, by any physical act or by any speech or writing incites, induces or encourages any other person to commit any act specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (whether or not such other person commits in consequence any act so specified), shall be guilty of an offence under this Act. Operation, C, of 3 . Order made under section 2 (1) Every Order made under subsection (1) of section 2 shall (1). come into operation on the date of its publication in the Gazette and shall, subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, be in operation for a period of one month from such date, without prejudice however, to the earlier revocation of that Order or to the making of a further Order at or before the end of that period. (2) Upon the publication in the Gazette of an Order made under subsection (1) of section 2, such Order shall be placed forthwith before Parliament and where Parliament is on the date of publication of that Order in the Gazette separated by any such adjournment or prorogation as will not expire within ten days, a Proclamation shall be issued for the meeting of Parliament within ten days from the date of publication of such Order and Parliament shall accordingly meet and sit upon the day appointed by that Proclamation, and shall continue to sit and act in like manner as if it had stood adjourned or prorogued to that day. (3) Every Order made under subsection (1) of section 2 shall expire after a period of fourteen days after the publication of such Order in the Gazette, unless such Order is approved by a resolution of Parliament; Provided that if Parliament is on the date of publication of such Order in the Gazette separated by any such adjournment or prorogation as is referred to in subsection (2), then such Order shall expire at the end of a period of ten days from the date on which Parliament shall meet and sit, unless approved by a resolution of Parliament at such meeting. Offences,4 . (1) Every person who commits an offence under this Act shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to a fine not less than two thousand rupees and not exceeding five thousand rupees or to both such imprisonment and fine. (2) Where a person is convicted by any court for an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to any other penalty that it imposes under subsection (1), make one or both of the following orders :- (a) that all property, movable or immovable, of the person convicted shall be forfeited to the Republic; (b) in any case where the person convicted is registered in any register maintained under any written law as entitling such person to practise any profession or vocation, that the name of such person be removed from; such register, if the court is of opinion that there are sufficient grounds for the making of any such order. (3) Where the court makes order under paragraph (a) of subsection (2) in respect of any person, every alienation or disposal of property made by such person after the date of publication of an Order under subsection (1) of section 2 in relation to any service provided by such person, shall be deemed to have been, and to be, null and void. Application of section 15 (2) of 5. Subsection (2) of section 15 of the Code of Criminal Code of Criminal Procedure Procedure Act shall not apply to any person convicted of an Act. offence under this Act. Actor omission committed or 6 . Where any person is prosecuted for an offence under this omitted to be done in Act, it shall not be a defence for him to prove that any act or furtherance of a strike not a omission constituting the offence was done or omitted to be defence in any prosecution done by him in furtherance of a strike commenced by a trade under this Act. union to which such person belongs. This Act to 7. The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything prevail over contained in any other written law and accordingly in the event of any other written conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and such other law. written law, the provisions of this Act shall prevail. Interpretation.8. In this Act- " co-operative society " means any society registered or deemed to be registered under the Co-operative Societies Law; "head"- (a) in relation to a co-operative society, means the President of that co operative society; (b) in relation to a local authority, means the Mayor or Chairman of that local authority or the Special Commissioner appointed to administer the affairs of that local authority; and (c) in relation to a public corporation, means the Chairman of the Board of Directors of such corporation and includes the General Manager of that corporation;