TE24 Bangladesh Desk:
The High Court on Monday fixed August 11 for the final hearing of the appeal against the dismissal of the case filed against Nobel Laureate and Chairman of Gramin Communications Dr. Muhammad Yunus for alleged violation of labor laws.
The Kajol High Court bench of Justice SM Quddus Zaman and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar passed the order.
Attorney Md Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the factory and facility inspectors and Abdullah Al Mamun appeared for Professor Yunus. On June 13, the Appellate Division held a two-month hearing.
The High Court led by Justice SM Quddus Zaman had also directed the bank to overturn the rules to explain why the case against Professor Yunus should not be quashed, said Attorney General AM Min Uddin.
On June 7, the Appellate Division ordered the cancellation of the ruling within two months. Factory and Factory Inspector Labor Inspector Arif Zaman filed a case in the Third Labor Court of Dhaka on September 9 last year. The other accused in the case are Grameen Telecom CEO Ashraful Hasan and its directors Noorjahan Begum and Shahjahan.
During the inspection of Gramin Telecom, department inspectors discovered that 101 workers and employees who were supposed to be full-time employees were not. No capital welfare fund was established for them and not even 5 percent of the company’s profits was made available to the workers as per law.
In response to the complaint, criminal proceedings were initiated under Sections 4, 7, 8, 117 and 234 of the Labor Code.
On October 12, the Labor Court granted bail to the four accused.
Then on December 7, Professor Yunus applied to the High Court to cancel the case. On December 12, the High Court adjourned the case for six months.
The court issued a ruling seeking to know why the case was not dismissed. The court urged the secretaries of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and Employment and other stakeholders to comply with this rule.
