Section 59 of chapter 33 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following:-

(a) An employee of the commonwealth in the service of the armed forces of the commonwealth or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States shall be entitled to receive pay without loss of ordinary remuneration as a public employee, and shall be fully paid by the public employer, during service in the uniformed services, annual training or drills and parades under section 61, not exceeding 34 days in any state fiscal year and not exceeding 17 days in any federal fiscal year, and shall not lose any seniority or any accrued vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, compensation time or earned overtime. For the purposes of this section, "uniformed services'' shall have the same meaning as defined in section 13.