Gulam Rabbani :
The Grameen Telecom, an organization owned by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, has recently paid Tk 4.37 billion to its 176 former employees as their dues through an out of court settlement. The employees got the money as they were entitled to get 5 percent of the net profit of the Grameen Telecom as per the Labour Law.
However, many more former employees of this organization are deprived of the same inds of dues. A total of 44 employees, who worked in the Grameen Telecom since 2006 to 2009, have already submitted a written representation to the Chairman of the organization claiming their dues as per rule.
The authorities have assured them that they will take initiatives about the representation within one week, said Md Sobhan Mollah, one of the former employees of the organization. But the authorities have not communicated with them yet although more than two weeks have passed.
Shahanara Begum, another former employee of the organization, said, “Grameen Telecom has recently settled the dues of the employees who were working from 2010 to 2022. Leaders of the ‘Grameen Telecom Sramik Karmachari Union’ who received the dues for 176 employees didn’t included or communicated with the employees who worked in the organization since 2002 to 2009.”
Although the said law has been applicable since 2006, about 90 employees working in the period 2006 to 2009 have not been paid their dues from the net profit of the company, read the
letter submitted to the Grameen Telecom authorities on behalf of new claimers.
Shahanara Begum said, “Many employees were terminated in 2007 in violation of appropriate procedure and they had been threatened at that time not to bargain over their dues. Many of the employees did not have the courage at that time to insist their claims firmly. But after the realization of dues of 176 employees recently, we dared to ask for our dues.”
Managing Director of the Grameen Telecom Md Nazmul Islam said, “We have already paid dues many of the employees. Newly many people are coming with demands. Some of them have also filed an application. We have asked our legal advisor to consider the legal aspects of that application. If they are owed, we will pay them.”
Although there was a settlement over the dues of 176 workers, questions have been raised about the dealings of Grameen Telecom.
The High Court on August 4 observed that it finds proper to direct the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to do needful for finding out the authenticity of the allegation of sending money to the accounts of the Trade Union and its lawyers’ in violation of relevant provisions of the Labour Act.
The High Court bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the observation after disposing of a company matter filed by ‘Grameen Telecom Sramik Karmachari Union’ against Grameen Telecom over their dues.
During the hearing on August 4, Additional Attorney General Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury representing the state said, “Since the substantive application was filed on two allegations, namely, the company has not paid the statutory payment of the workers and secondly, Board of Directors have divers the huge amount of money from Grameen Telecom to its other sister concerns in violation of the laws, therefore, there must be an investigation is required to be done by the concerned law enforcing agency or by the ACC.”
Grameen Telecom has transferred a total of Tk 3009 crore to its other sister concerns, said the state law officer referring a source.
In reply Grameen Telecom lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan said, “The ACC has already asked the Grameen Telecom to furnish its relevant documents with regard of its transactions from the date of its incorporation to till date.”
