Grameen Bank
Former staff demand probe into 'irregularities'
A group of former employees of Grameen Bank, who claimed to have either been terminated or forced into retirement, yesterday demanded reinstatement of their jobs and probe into Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus' “irregularities”.
They made the call at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity in city yesterday, just two days after Prof Yunus was removed from Grameen Bank.
Under the banner of Grameen Bank Nirjatito Karmi Parishad (forum of repressed employees), they also demanded that all the activities of the bank be made public.
Confused and failed to answer properly some questions by the journalists, the bank's former employees said no one was behind them or persuaded them to hold the press conference.
Masum Sarkar, convener of the parishad, claimed that Prof Yunus misusing his power as the managing director terminated or gave temporary and force retirement to hundreds of employees of the bank.
Masum, also the former assistant general manager of the bank, however, said, “Prof Yunus did not embezzle money, but spent huge money wantonly.”
The parishad leaders claimed that some 8,000 employees had faced termination or retirement, of whom some were fired several years ago and some recently.
Asked about the formation of their organisation, Masum said they formed it a month back but not all the 8,000 employees are the members of the organisation.
When asked if he sought help from labour court or conventional court, he did not reply properly. But the parishad leaders claimed some of the members, present at the programme, sought court's help.
Asked why they were holding the conference now, the convener could not specify and rather said they took some time to mobilise the 'ill-fated' employees. “Besides, the terminated employees are also persuading us to do something,” said Masum.
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