Yunus appears in court for labour law trial

Grameen Telecom boss and Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has appeared before a court to defend himself in a case tied to the violation of labour laws.

He arrived at the Srama Bhaban in Dhaka around Thursday noon and reached the court on the sixth floor of the building as the elevator has been out of service for several months, reports bdnews24.com.
The court began the hearing around 1:00pm. Lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun represented Yunus during the hearing.

“The Nobel laureate is on permanent bail in this case. His physical presence in the court has also been waived. But he is going to defend himself in court according to the law,” Mamun had previously said on Wednesday.

On Sept 9, 2021, Yunus and three others were named in a case filed against Grameen Communications with a labour court by Labour Inspector Arifuzzaman of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.

The others named in the case are Grameen Telecom Managing Director Ashraful Hasan and directors Noorjahan Begum and Md Shahjahan.

All four people named in the case have testified. The plaintiff and first witness in the case testified on Oct 1. The fourth witness in the case testified on Nov 6.

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.