Nobel laureate Yunus faces criminal charges for ‘labour law breach’

Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has been accused of violating labour laws in a criminal case involving Grameen Communications.

Tarikul Islam, an inspector at the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, initiated the case at Dhaka’s Third Labour Court on Jan 5.

Judge Rohibul Islam did not pass orders on Thursday, the court’s clerk Mia Md Jamal Uddin toild bdnews24.com.

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.

The same court on Oct 9 issued arrest warrant for 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.

In the latest case, factory inspector Tarikul said 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.

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.