Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has secured bail after surrendering to a court in a case involving a series of labour law violations by Grameen Communications.
Judge Rahibul Islam of Dhaka’s Third Labour Court granted bail to Yunus on a Tk 5,000 bond after hearing the Grameen Communications chairman’s plea on Sunday, the court’s clerk Jamal Hossain said.
Tarikul Islam, an inspector at the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, initiated the case against Yunus and four others on Jan 5.
Besides Yunus, the chairman of Grameen Communications, the others named in the case are Managing Director Nazneen Sultana, Director Abdul Hai Khan and Deputy General Manager Sarkar Gouri Shankar.
Plaintiff Tarikul said in the case that Grameen Communications on May 7 last year responded to the department’s instructions to correct some irregularities found during an inspection on Apr 30.
The department found the company was working in violation of 10 rules during an inspection on Oct 10. The department then asked the firm to respond on Oct 28, 2019.
The accused applied for time to respond, but did not make any, which is a violation of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, according to the case.
The rules allegedly violated by Grameen Communications include not providing the employees with appointment letters, photo ID cards and service books; not getting its work schedule approved by the authorities; not submitting annual and half-yearly returns; and not cashing half the holidays in a year.
The same court on Oct 9 issued an arrest warrant against Yunus in three cases filed by sacked workers who alleged they lost their jobs for forming a trade union. Yunus secured bail on Nov 3 after surrendering to court. –bdnews24.com
