Parliament has passed the Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021 with the Rajya Sabha approving it on August 6, 2021 amidst din.
- The Lok Sabha has already cleared the Bill. The Bill allows the central government to prohibit strikes, lock-outs, and lay-offs in units engaged in essential defence services.
- It amends the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 to include essential defence services under public utility services.
- Speaking on the Bill, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh clarified that it has been brought to make reforms in Ordnance Factories and it will not impact the service conditions of employees.
- The Essential Defence Services Bill is aimed at preventing the staff of the government-owned ordnance factories from going on a strike. The Bill mentions that that it is meant to “provide for the maintenance of essential defence services so as to secure the security of nation and the life and property of public at large and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.
