Grameenphone Emplo-yees' Union (GPEU) members again staged demonstration in front of the Grameenphone headquarters (HQ) in the city's Bashundhara area on Tuesday, protesting dismissal of a GPEU leader and violation of rights of its employees.
The GPEU members gathered in front of the Grameenphone (GP) office at around 11.00 am to form a human chain to raise their voices against the GP authority's moves that allegedly violate employees' rights.
GPEU acting president Fazlul Haque and general secretary Mia Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, among others, were present at the sit-in programme, followed by the human chain.
The demonstrators chanted slogans to reinstate the job of GPEU general secretary Mr Masud, who was dismissed by the GP authority on October 27. They also protested sending of an email by the GP authority on Sunday night, which the GPEU leaders consider a bar to fundamental rights and a mode of threat.
The GPEU acting president in the programme threatened to go for country-wide protest, if Mr Masud is not reinstated in his position.
Another leader of the union said, "We have freedom of speech and freedom of association, and the GP authority cannot scrap our constitutional rights."
The GP authority has been trying to ruin its employees' right of unionisation, and sacking the people who try to strengthen the union, he added.
Mr Masud was dismissed without giving any reason by applying Section 26 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, according to a press release, issued earlier by the union.
Protesting the incident, the GPEU members staged a sit-in programme in front of the GP head office on October 28 for the first time, and in front of the Directorate of Labour on October 29.
From those demonstrations, the GPEU demanded Mr Masud's reinstatement by November 01.
"But the GP authority paid no heed to the demand, and that's why we are demonstrating again," a protester told the FE.
The GP authority considers Mr Masud as the key impediment towards mass layoff. So they dismissed him first, so that no one gain the courage to protest the mass layoff, he added.
While contacted, the GP authority told the FE that the company maintains employment terms and conditions following the applicable laws of the land.
"The separation of the employee has taken place in light of the terms of the employment and the applicable laws," they added.
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