DHAKA: Employees at the country’s leading mobile operator Grameenphone (GP) came under the authorities’ reprisal as they began movement to press home their demands.

However, GP called the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to foil the employees’ movement.

On Sunday, nearly a hundred employees of GP had gathered at its headquarters in Baridhara area of the city since the morning, demanding equal distribution of the company’s five percent profit among its staff.

Then they took position on office premises to press for the demand. The demonstration went on peacefully. No untoward incident happened.

In the afternoon, a team of RAB-1 appeared on the spot and all of a sudden, they attacked on the agitating employees. RAB foiled the demonstration, charging batons on the employees.

Several employees alleged that they were staging peaceful demonstration. Suddenly, RAB members came and charged batons without telling them anything, they added.

Banglanews’ Chief of Photo Correspondents Nazmul Hasan was on the spot during RAB’s action. The law enforcers barred him from discharging his duty. They obstructed him to take snaps of the scenes. They even tried to snatch Nazmul’s camera.

As RAB had begun indiscriminate baton-charge, the agitating employees left the scene. The demonstrating place became empty within a moment and RAB took poison there.

Banglanews tried to reach the GP authorities for their comments on the demonstration of employees and the RAB’s action as well. They were not available for the whole day. Later on Sunday night, GP sent an email with their speeches on the incidents.

Grameenphone’s statement

A group of employees, who work for GP through third-party recruitment, filed lawsuits against GP, demanding regularization their jobs in GP. These cases are now under trial at the different courts of Bangladesh.

Although the matter is under trial, these employees are now creating unjust pressures on the GP authorities, which is very saddening. This is to mention that they had also tried to create such kinds of chaos earlier.

Generally, major companies take help from other companies to provide services. GP also takes this type of services following the country’s rules and regulations and provides fair payment to the service-providing companies.

Disclosing more details are not possible for the time being as the matter is under trial.

About GP: It is a joint venture enterprise between Telenor and Grameen Telecom Corporation. Telenor, the largest telecommunications company in Norway, owns 62% shares of grameenphone and Grameen Telecom owns the rest 38%.

BDST: 1236 HRS, FEB 03, 2015