Nobel Laureate Dr Yunus sentenced to jail for 6 months

A court in Dhaka sentenced Nobel Laureate economist and Grameen Telecom Chairman Dr Muhammad Yunus and three others to six months in prison and fined Tk 25,000 each in a case filed on charges of violating the labour law.

Dhaka’s third labour court’s judge Begum Sheikh Merina Sultana pronounced the verdict around 3:0pm.

The other three facing the penalty are Grameen Telecom’s former managing director Md Ashraful Hasan, directors Nur Jahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.

The maximum punishment in this case is six-month imprisonment and a fine of Tk 25,000.

On 9 September in 2021, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) filed the case against Dr Yunus and three others alleging that they violated the labour law. The court on 6 June framed charges against Yunus and three others in the case.

Yunus and others filed a petition with the Appellate Division seeking to scrap the trial proceeding in the case. The appellate Division on 20 August last year rejected the petition.

The labour court then started taking depositions of witnesses on 22 August. Four officials of DIFE gave depositions against Dr Yunus and others.

Judge Merina Sultana on 24 December fixed 1 January as the date for the announcement of the verdict in this case.

According to the case statement, recruitment of workers and employees were not made permanent at Grameen Telecom in accordance with the Labour Law 2006 and the Labour Rules 2015 after their apprenticeship ends. Workers and employees who are employed were not given annual leave with pay, leave encashment and cash against leave.

Workers Profit Participation Fund (WPPF) and Welfare Fund were not formed, as well as a 5 per cent of the organisation’s profit is not deposited to the fund formed in accordance with the Workers Welfare Foundation Act, the case statement added.

Responding to the allegations, the four defendants including Dr Yunus told the court in a written statement on 9 November that officers and employees of Grameen Telecom are appointed on contract as per the organisation’s policy because the business of Grameen Telecom is operated on contract.

However, all officials and employees of Grameen Telecom enjoy provident fund, gratuity, earned leave and retirement leave like permanent employees. The allegation brought in this case regarding not making recruitment of employees permanent is a matter of administration and civil case.

Grameen Telecom is a non-profit organisation under section 28 of the Company Act, and its profit is not for distribution and it is used for social development, the written statement added.