Dr Yunus’ bail extended in labour law violation case

A Dhaka tribunal has extended bail of Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and three directors of Grameen Telecom till May 23 in a labour law violation case.

MA Awal, chairman (in-charge) of Labour Appellate Tribunal, passed the order on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Dr Yunus and other accused appeared before the tribunal to seek permanent bail in the case.

The tribunal on March 3 extended bail to Prof Yunus and his three colleagues until April 16.

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.