Dr Yunus, 3 others get bail in labour law violation case

The Labour Appellate Tribunal has granted bail to Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and three others in a case filed for violating labour law.

Judge MA Awal of the Labour Appellate Tribunal on Sunday passed the order after they filed an appeal against a Dhaka Labour Court verdict in the case. 

The court granted bail to the four convicts until the appeal is settled.

Earlier on January 1, Sheikh Merina Sultana, chairman of the Third Labour Court of Dhaka, sentenced Yunus, chairman of Grameen Telecom, and its directors Ashraful Hasan, Nurjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan to six months in jail in the case.

The court also fined them Tk 5,000 each and asked them to pay the dues to all workers of Grameen Telecom within 30 days. 

After the verdict, Yunus and the three other officials filed separate bail petitions, and the judge granted them bail for one month.

Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Inspector Arifuzzaman filed the case against them 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 and not establishing a welfare fund for the laborers, among others.