The Labour Appellate Tribunal in Dhaka on Sunday extended the bail of Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, also the chairman of Grameen Telecom, and its three other top officials in a case filed over the violation of labour law.

Senior District and Sessions Judge MA Awal, also the tribunal’s acting chairman, passed the order after Dr Yunus, and Grameen Telecom officials Md Ashraful Hasan, Nurjahan Begum, and Md Shahjahan appeared before the court this morning.

Confirming the matter, defence lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun said the tribunal set 16 April for holding the next hearing on the appeals filed against the verdict in the case.

On 1 January, the Dhaka Third Labour Court sentenced the four to six months’ jail, with a fine of Tk25,000 each, in the case. The court also granted them conditional bail on the same day.

On June 6, 2023, the court framed charges against the four accused.

On 9 September 2021, Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Labour Inspector SM Arifuzzaman filed the case against the four defendants.

According to the case statement, during an inspection, the DIFE officials found that the company’s 101 workers and staff who were supposed to be permanent were not made so.

Besides, no participation and welfare funds were formed for them, and 5% of the company’s profit was not provided to the workers as per the law.