Employees and AIDEF Will Continue to Oppose Corporatisation of Ordnance Factories: C. Srikumar, G.S. AIDEF

OPINION PIECE

Recently, the online edition of a leading national English daily carried a report quoting Defence Ministry sources that the corporatised Ordnance Factories had achieved export orders worth ₹3,500 crore in 2024–25. The report further claimed that the corporatisation process was carried out smoothly without labour unrest, as all stakeholders were kept on board to enhance efficiency and productivity.

This claim, however, came as a surprise to the employees of the Ordnance Factories, who continue to strongly oppose corporatisation. In fact, the employees had gone on a five-day strike against the move, and in a recent letter addressed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, AIDEF, INDWF, BPMS, and CDRA once again demanded withdrawal of corporatisation and restoration of departmental status to the Ordnance Factories.

Even after four years of corporatisation, labour unrest is increasing day by day in all seven DPSUs.

In 2020, a five-day strike in all 41 Ordnance Factories prompted the government to hurriedly impose the Essential Defence Services Act (EDSA-21), banning and criminalising strikes in the defence sector. After AIDEF challenged its constitutionality in the Delhi High Court, the government discontinued EDSA. “If there was no labour unrest, why was EDSA promulgated?” Srikumar asked.

AIDEF has challenged the government’s corporatisation decision in the Madras High Court. “If employees were on board as claimed, why did we resort to legal action?”

AIDEF has consistently maintained that corporatisation of Ordnance Factories is a failed experiment and should be withdrawn.

Even the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), before corporatisation, passed a resolution opposing the government’s decision.

Exports from Ordnance Factories are not new. “Even before corporatisation, OFB was exporting not only arms and ammunition but also clothing items. Today, MIL’s exports are due to geopolitical conditions like war, not corporatisation. Attributing export orders to corporatisation is misleading.”

The manpower strength of the Ordnance Factories has been drastically reduced from 1,44,000 to 58,903. “Our charge that corporatisation is a step towards privatisation is being proved correct.”

TCL, IOL, and GIL have been downgraded, with no SAG-level officers on their boards. “Earlier, all 41 Ordnance Factories were treated at par as strategic assets. Now there is discrimination.”

The order book of TCL and GIL for 2026–27 is almost nil, raising questions about their future.

The government’s growing dependence on the private sector, while sidelining Ordnance Factories in the name of cost efficiency, will adversely affect defence preparedness and soldier morale.

Past experience shows that private companies, after bagging Army orders through cut-throat competition, have often supplied substandard items. “Jawans have complained about these in their Durbars, though many hesitate to speak out due to Army discipline.”

The workforce of Ordnance Factories comprises specially trained and certified war-equipment manufacturing technicians, deeply committed to quality and timely delivery. “This cannot be expected from the private sector, where the motive is profit, often at the cost of quality and labour welfare.”

Concluding, Srikumar said: “Whatever rosy picture is projected about corporatisation to justify the government’s ill-advised decision, the fact remains that it is a failed misadventure. It is still not too late for the government to reconsider and restore the Ordnance Factories as a departmental organisation to regain the glory of India’s 223-year-old pioneer defence industry.”

Views expressed here are those of C. Srikumar, General Secretary of All India Defence Employees’ Federation (AIDEF)