The classification as an "essential service" has only to do with the service being essential to the _users_ of the service, and nothing to do with the workers.

The classification as an "essential service" has only to do with the service being essential to the _users_ of the service, and nothing to do with the workers. You are completely twisting the label of an essential service in a way that makes it effectively meaningless. For every worker that depends on their salary for their livelihood, their job is essential, but that has nothing to do with an "essential service".