GP employees' union demands executive committee elections immediately

The Grameenphone Employees Union (GPEU) staged a sit-in protest today in front of the Grameenphone House in the Bashundhara area of Dhaka, protesting the postponement of their executive committee elections and demanding that the elections be held as soon as possible.

The union also protested against the illegal interference of the Grameenphone authorities in postponing the elections.

Rasulul Murad, vice-president of the GPEU, said that the Election Commission (EC) had followed all procedures, including publishing a draft voter list, addressing objections, and finalising the list in coordination with union representatives, the Department of Labour coordinator, and the EC. Despite this, allegations of a flawed voter list were used to suspend the election.

Adiba Zerin Chowdhury, publicity secretary of the GPEU, questioned the Department of Labour's justification for postponing the election just four days before the scheduled date, even after finalising and approving the voter list.

She termed the management's interference as a clear violation of the law and unethical labour practices.

Omar Faruq, founding president of the GPEU, said that the GPEU elections should be conducted without delay.

He warned that if any conspiracies arise to prolong the postponement, a broader national movement involving other trade unions and federations would be organised to restore the voting rights of Grameenphone employees.

Omar Faruq also condemned the suspension of the elections under the influence of Grameenphone management and the Department of Labour's directives, and criticised the management's actions as unlawful and regrettable.

In response, Grameenphone said, "Grameenphone has always been respectful of the laws of the country. We also support a union election with the right participants following the right process. In the GPEU election, some irregularities relating to the voter list came to our attention. This was also brought to the attention of the Department of Labour. Unfortunately, despite repeated engagements, no timely corrective steps were visible. That is why we were constrained to approach the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Upon hearing, the court has issued a rule nisi on the legality of the Department of Labour's inaction and also issued an interim injunction on the election."

The election commissioner of the GPEU has postponed the executive committee elections following the Department of Labour's directive, which was based on allegations of illegal interference by Grameenphone management.

The elections, scheduled for December 9, were set to take place across 10 polling centres nationwide, with 36 candidates participating and an enthusiastic response from voters. The EC had made all necessary preparations in compliance with regulations.

However, on December 6, a deputy director of the Department of Labour invited the election commissioners to a meeting where they were instructed to postpone the elections.