Keralam’s Leader of Opposition extends support to bank strike

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Keralam’s Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the three-day strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which begins on September 28 in protest against the anti-worker policies of the Centre. Mr. Vijayan said the bank employees have been waging a bold struggle against the Central government’s covert moves to hand over the country’s public sector banks to corporate monopolies.

The Union government’s decision to renege on the official agreement to declare Saturdays as holidays constitutes a gross betrayal of the employees, he said. It is entirely discriminatory for the Finance Ministry to ignore legitimate demands such as the restoration of the old pension scheme, while sidelining ordinary staff and granting substantial benefits exclusively to top-ranking officials, he said.

The government is attempting to undermine the bargaining power of bank unions, which have been staunchly opposing the write-off of corporate loans. The working class and the people of Keralam will stand united to resist this conspiracy. The Centre should be ready to accept the employees’ demands and resolve the issue immediately, he said in a statement.

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