Pinarayi Vijayan backs three-day bank strike over 'anti-worker' policies

Keralam's Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday extended his support to the three-day strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which is set to begin on September 28.

In a statement, Mr. Vijayan said bank employees have been waging a determined struggle against what he described as the Central government's covert attempts to hand over the country's public sector banks to corporate monopolies.

He criticised the Union government's decision to go back on an official agreement to declare Saturdays as holidays, calling it a gross betrayal of the employees.

Mr. Vijayan also said it was discriminatory for the Finance Ministry to ignore legitimate demands, including the restoration of the old pension scheme, while sidelining ordinary staff and extending substantial benefits only to top-ranking officials.

According to him, the government is trying to weaken the bargaining power of bank unions, which have been firmly opposing the write-off of corporate loans. He said the working class and the people of Keralam would stand together to resist this, and urged the Centre to accept the employees' demands and resolve the matter without delay.