Saturday, April 27, 2024
A labour court has framed charges against four people, including Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, in a case lodged over violation of labour laws.
Judge Begum Sheikh Merina Sultana of Dhaka 3rd Labour Court passed the order on Tuesday.
The other three accused in the case are - Grameen Telecom Managing Director Ashraful Hasan, Board Directors Nurjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.
Supreme Court lawyers Abdullah Al Mamun and Khwaja Tanvir Ahmed took part in the hearing for Dr Muhammad Yunus.
"The three charges pressed against Grameen Telecom are - not regularizing staff, not granting them earned leave and not giving the labourers the share of five per cent of net profit," Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun told newsmen.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on May 8 scraped a leave to appeal petition filed by Dr Muhammad Yunus, challenging a High Court order that cleared way for labour court proceedings against him.
Earlier on August 17, 2022, the High Court discharged a rule that stayed proceedings of a case against Dr Muhammad Yunus and three others for allegedly violating labour laws.
A High Court division bench comprising Justice S M Kuddus Zaman and Justice Fahmida Quader passed the order, after holding a hearing on the rule issued on December 12, 2021.
Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Inspector Arifuzzaman filed the case against Dr Yunus and three others on September 9, 2021, and the court had summoned the four to appear before it by October 12, 2021.
According to the case documents, a team of the DIFE went on an inspection to
the Grameen Telecom and found the violations of labour laws like not regularizing 101 staff, not establishing a welfare fund for the labourers, among others.
