Supreme Court clears way for trial against Grammenphone

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the labour court concerned to continue proceedings of 22 cases filed against Grameenphone Limited (GP) by its 22 former employees who were retrenched from their job.

A press release in this regard was issued by the GP Employees Union (GPEU) on Wednesday.

The apex court has dismissed several petitions filed by GP, one of the country's top telecommunication service providers, against a High Court order that in 2019 discharged a writ petition – filed challenging the legality of the cases running in the labour court.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, passed the order on August 6, after hearing the GP's petitions.

The GP authorities filed a writ petition with the HC in 2015, challenging the legality of the cases in the labour court.

After the hearing, the HC in 2019 rejected the rule - issued following the writ petition. The mobile operator then moved to the apex court. After hearing the petitions, the apex court rejected those on August 6.

GPEU was formed on 14 June 2012, and it applied to the Director of Labour on 23 July 2012 for registration. On 24 July 2012, the GP management terminated around 200 union members, including seven union leaders, to stop the employees' movement.

According to GPEU, the company later offered a package to the terminated union members - to sign resignation letters and exit. Everyone, except Three union leaders, Adeeba Zerin Chowdhury, Communication Secretary, GPEU, Rasulul Amin Murad Vice President, GPEU and Omer Faruq President, GPEU did not accept the offer and challenged it in court.

Later, 19 other employees who resigned and took benefits, also filed cases in 2012. GP submitted their written statements and discharge application in the same court on 21 April 2013 for all individual cases.

After hearing the case, the high court division ordered the 1st labour court to finish the trial faster dismissing the writ petition filed by GP.

Moreover, the three fired union leaders filed 3 criminal cases in the 1st labour court for unfair labour practice by GP management.

The court served a summon on 27/08/2012. After that, the accused GP management personnel got bail from the Labour court on 29/10/2012 and filed 3 criminal cases in the High Court division and got a stay order for every 6 months.

/KN/