CPM, CPI back bank staff strike, urge Centre to hold talks

CHENNAI: The Left parties in the state backed the nationwide three-day strike by over 10 lakh bank employees and officers from September 28 to 30, urging the Centre to hold talks with their federation and resolve their demands.

CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said the employees had been seeking a five-day working week for several years. A joint memorandum submitted by bank managements and the employees' federation to the Centre in March 2025 was yet to yield a decision, he said.

The other demands include filling vacancies, regularising temporary staff, ending outsourcing, providing defined pension benefits and ending discrimination in the name of performance-linked incentives.

Referring to the one-day strike on September 11, Shanmugam said neither the government nor bank managements had initiated talks. An indefinite strike has also been announced from October 26, he said.

Alleging that the government was threatening employees and officers to deter them from joining the strike, Shanmugam urged the Centre to hold talks and reach a settlement.

CPI state secretary M Veerapandian also urged the Centre to drop its "threatening approach" and negotiate with the federation. He said the three-day strike had been called by the All India Bank Employees and Officers Federation over the employees' long-pending demands.