Dr. Yunus Pays Tk 400Cr to Sacked Workers of Grameen Telecom

Nobel laureate Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus has paid Tk 400 crore to 176 sacked workers of Grameen Telecom.

Dr Yunus' lawyer Mostafizur Rahman Khan told the judge in the company court on Monday (May 23).

He added that the workers had withdrawn their application for termination of Grameen Telecom.

Earlier, on February 7, a petition was filed in the High Court on behalf of the Grameen Telecom workers' union seeking termination of Grameen Telecom. Lawyer Yusuf Ali appeared before the court on be behalf of the appellants.

Lawyer Yusuf Ali told reporters that Grameen Telecom owed more than Tk 250 crore to the 176 workers. The liquidation of the company was sought for this money owed.

Incidentally, for a long time, the workers' dissatisfaction was centered on the retrenchment of workers in Grameen Telecom. The Grameen Telecom authorities laid off 99 workers in a notice without consulting the Workers and Employees Union (B-2194) CBA. The retrenchment was done through a notice signed by Grameen Telecom Managing Director Mohammad Ashraful Hasan.

After that 28 workers filed a writ petition in the High Court against the notice. The High Court also summoned Dr Yunus, the chairman of the company, over the retrenchment. On April 4, 2021, the workers were ordered to be reinstated.

Besides, on September 12 last year, the Dhaka Department of Factories and Establishments filed a case against four people, including Dr Muhammad Yunus, for violating labor laws. In the midst of these unrests, the petition was filed in the High Court seeking directions for the termination of Grameen Telecom.