Protest for Profit Participation: Grameenphone’s Terminated Employees Press for 5% Payment
Demanding the payment of the outstanding 5 percent from the Workers’ Profit Participation Fund (WPPF), dismissed employees of mobile operator Grameenphone staged a five-hour human chain.
On Tuesday, 2 November, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, around 300 dismissed employees gathered in front of the Grameenphone Centre near the company’s head office in Bashundhara, Dhaka, to form the human chain.
Family members of the terminated employees were also seen participating, holding placards displaying various demands. Participants were heard chanting slogans through handheld microphones.
Adiba Jerin Chowdhury, a former Grameenphone employee who joined the protest, said, “We have been demonstrating for a year demanding payment of our 15 years’ dues. Grameenphone remains silent, and so does the administration. From today’s human chain, we call upon the Chief Adviser to ensure workers’ rightful dues and the payment of our arrears, in line with the vision of implementing the Zero-3 framework.”
The dismissed workers said that despite Grameenphone’s continued business expansion and significant profit growth, the company has been laying off employees since 2013. They claimed that Grameenphone’s failure to implement the Appellate Division’s verdict shows audacity that is disrespectful and disgraceful to sovereign Bangladesh and its government. They demanded an investigation into all illegal actions—including unlawful layoffs, lockouts, and unethical labour practices—and called for punitive measures. They also insisted that those illegally dismissed must be paid their outstanding 5 percent entitlement.
Abu Sadat Md. Shoaib, coordinator of the movement of dismissed Grameenphone employees, said, “Our movement will continue until our demands are met. We are carrying out a peaceful protest and the administration has already been informed.” He added, “Grameenphone laid off workers unjustly, and the 5 percent share of the company’s profits owed to us has not been paid.”
He further said, “We, the former employees of Grameenphone Limited, have been engaged in a peaceful struggle for 15 years to realise our legal entitlement to 5 percent WPPF and WWF dues, in accordance with directives from the Ministry of Labour, regulatory authorities, and the court. Grameenphone is trying to suppress us by filing false cases. The grievances of 3,360 families and thousands of workers are tied to this long-standing deprivation.”
He added, “If we are not paid our dues, and if the government shelters them, we will take to the streets against the government as well. We strike with our minds, not our hands. We do not recognise a caretaker or an interim government—we only know that anyone who stands in the way of securing our rightful dues will be given an appropriate response.”
Sumi, a dismissed female employee of Grameenphone, said, “We repeatedly demanded our rightful payments, but they mocked us. So we have decided that if they do not pay us what we deserve, this company will no longer have a trace left in this country.”
DBTech/AD/IK/OR
