Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Grameenphone declared a one-day general leave for all its officials on Sunday, after a group of officials of the country’s largest mobile phone operator demonstrated before their head office at Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka.
About 50 officials started the demonstration around 7:45am as they were barred from entering the office, witnesses said.
Their contracts are valid till July 31, but the administration had their electronic access cards disabled, sources have said.
Soon after, several hundred of their colleagues joined the demonstration and formed a human chain protesting the decision.
However, the officials who had been barred were later allowed to enter the office after a meeting with the demonstrators and the leaders of the newly formed Grameenphone Employees Association, they added.
A Grameenphone statement issued following the incident said, “This [yesterday] morning a group employees started a demonstration in front of the head office obstructing the other employees from entering the office. To avoid any untoward situation the Grameenphone management has asked the employees to go home using company transport and if possible work from there.”
All customer services of Grameenphone remained operational, according to the statement.
“To remain competitive in its business and serve its customer base with more efficiency the company is realigning its business. Due to this process many new functions have emerged while other functions have been merged to create new roles. Unfortunately the company has to let go some of the employees as there are not enough posts to accommodate everyone in the restructured organisation,” it added.
Currently, 4,800 officials are working in the mobile phone company.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary standing committee on labour and employment ministry has decided to summon the chief executive officer of Grameenphone to explain the company’s recent termination.
“Many staff members have been terminated from Grameenphone not properly following the labour law. So, we will ask the CEO of the company to explain the action at our next meeting,” Israfil Alam, chief of the House body, said reportedly on Sunday. The date of the next meeting is yet to be fixed.
BBN/SSR/AD-09July12-10:50 am (BST)
