# Essential services > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Essential_services > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Essential_services.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_services > Source revision: 1323068957 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Occupations with restrictions in striking}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2011}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}} '''Essential services''' may refer to a class of [occupations](/source/vocation) that have been [legislated](/source/legislation) by a government to have special restrictions in regard to [labour actions](/source/Labor_activism) such as not being allowed to [strike](/source/strike_action). The [International Labour Office](/source/International_Labour_Office), a [United Nations](/source/United_Nations) agency, distinguishes an essential service from a [minimum service](/source/minimum_service).[http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/information-resources-and-publications/publications/WCMS_090632/lang--en/index.htm International Labour Organization] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024045111/http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/information-resources-and-publications/publications/WCMS_090632/lang--en/index.htm |date=October 24, 2011 }}, Freedom of association – Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee of the Governing Body of the ILO. Fifth (revised) edition, 2006. Industries defined as essential services differ based on the organization or government but generally include services such as [hospitals](/source/hospitals) and other healthcare, utilities such as [electricity](/source/electricity) and [water supply](/source/water_supply), [law enforcement](/source/law_enforcement) and [firefighting](/source/firefighting), and [food](/source/food) services. == Public health emergencies == "Essential services" may also refer to those services that are vital to the health and welfare of a population and so are essential to maintain even in a disaster.{{cite web|url=https://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&category_slug=tools&alias=543-pandinflu-leadershipduring-tool-16&Itemid=1179&lang=en|title=DISASTER MANAGEMENT: MAINTENANCE OF ESSENTIAL SERVICES|last=Pan American Health Organization|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=Mar 27, 2020}} During the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic), many jurisdictions ordered non-essential services to close for several weeks in an effort to control the spread of the virus.(1) {{Cite web|url=https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-essential-services|title=COVID-19: Essential Services|website=Mass.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326152633/https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-essential-services|archive-date=March 26, 2020|url-status=live}}
(2) {{Cite web|url=https://www.cp24.com/news/what-is-an-essential-service-in-ontario-1.4865865|title=What is an essential service in Ontario?|last=staff|first=Web|date=2020-03-24|website=CP24|language=en|access-date=2020-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327225934/https://www.cp24.com/news/what-is-an-essential-service-in-ontario-1.4865865|archive-date=March 27, 2020|url-status=live}}
(3) {{Cite web|url=https://telanganatoday.com/covid-19-lockdown-what-constitutes-essential-services-and-how-govt-responds|title=COVID-19 Lockdown: What constitutes essential services, and how govt responds|last=AuthorIANS|website=Telangana Today|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327225932/https://telanganatoday.com/covid-19-lockdown-what-constitutes-essential-services-and-how-govt-responds|archive-date=March 27, 2020|url-status=live}} The [United States Department of Homeland Security](/source/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security)'s [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency](/source/Cybersecurity_and_Infrastructure_Security_Agency) issued a nation-wide [guidance document](/source/administrative_guidance) that defined activities that the Agency had determined to be "essential" to the control of the pandemic and the management of its effects.{{cite web|url=https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA_Guidance_on_the_Essential_Critical_Infrastructure_Workforce_Version_2.0_Updated.pdf|title=Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Resilience in COVID-19 Response|date=March 28, 2020|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=[United States Department of Homeland Security](/source/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security): [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency](/source/Cybersecurity_and_Infrastructure_Security_Agency): Office of the Director|accessdate=April 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402033910/https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA_Guidance_on_the_Essential_Critical_Infrastructure_Workforce_Version_2.0_Updated.pdf|archive-date=April 2, 2020|url-status=live}} Examples of industries in which at least some workers were classified as "essential" during the pandemic included: * Health care, public health, and human services * Law enforcement, public safety, and first responders * Food and agriculture * Energy * Water and wastewater * Transportation and logistics * Public works * Communications and information technology * Other community-based essential functions and government operations * Critical manufacturing * Supply chains * Retail and wholesaling * Food services and accommodations * Institutional, residential, commercial, and industrial maintenance * Manufacturing and production * Construction * Financial activities * Resources * Environmental services * Utilities and community services * Communications industries * Research * Justice * Business regulators and inspectors == References == {{reflist}} Category:Labor relations Category:Labour law --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Essential services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_services) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_services?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.