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Published : 22 Aug 2023, 09:34 PM
The trial of the microcredit guru Noble laureate Muhammad Yunus on charges of breaching the labour law at Grameen Telecom has begun.
Labour Inspector Tariqul Islam testified at Dhaka Labour Court No. 3 on Tuesday in the case initiated by the Department of Labour, citing alleged violations by the former Grameen Bank boss Yunus, including him not depositing specific dividends to the Labour Welfare Foundation.
He also claimed Yunus had not made jobs permanent for those on probation and barred employees from cashing out leaves.
Lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun representing Yunus then proceeded to question Tariqul.
The witness hearings in a case usually begin with the testimony of the plaintiff. The case was filed by Labour Inspector Md Arifuzzaman two years ago. But since he died, Tariqul is representing the labour department as the plaintiff.
Tariqul was asked whether he assumed the role of the plaintiff with the permission of the court.
Lawyer Abdullah said: “You made the court aware of the matter officially today. But you did not take the court’s authorisation until now. So how did the case run for these 10 months without a plaintiff?”
With the cross-examination not yet over, Judge Begum Sheikh Merina Sultana adjourned the hearing until Aug 31.
Lawyer Khurshid Alam represented the plaintiff at the hearing.
Yunus was not present in court on Tuesday. The other three accused in the case, however, attended it.
On Sept 9, 2021, Yunus and three others were named in the case against Grameen Communications with a labour court by Labour Inspector Arifuzzaman of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.
The charges against them include failure to provide employees with appointment letters, to get work schedules approved by the authorities, and to submit annual and half-yearly returns.
Following a petition by Yunus, the honorary chairman of Grameen Telecom, the High Court on Dec 12, 2021, suspended the proceedings against him for six months. It also issued a rule asking why the case would not be dismissed.
Later, in June 2022, the Appellate Division put a two-month freeze on the proceedings and ordered the High Court to settle its rule.
Two months later, Justice SM Kuddus Zaman and Justice Fahmida Quader quashed a High Court rule asking why the case against Yunus would not be dismissed, paving the way for trial proceedings.
Yunus then unsuccessfully challenged that decision in the Supreme Court.
