The Banglalink Employees' Union has requested the prime minister to ensure their job security and an end to alleged threats by the private mobile phone operator's management.
Banglalink, Bangladesh's second-largest mobile phone operator, and the union locked horns on February 11 after the firing of engineer Shariful Islam allegedly for his involvement in organising the union.
Interrogation by Banglalink's human resource department left another union member hospitalised.
The employees had previously confined Chief Technical Office (CTO) Perihane Elhamy to her room at the headquarters.
She was released hours later when police and the management assured the employees to look into the matter.
Employees' union President Ujjal Paul sought the premier's intervention in a letter, received by the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
Copies of it were forwarded to the ministers for commerce, home, and law apart from the state ministers for labour, posts and telecommunications and ICT.
The union dubbed Shariful's firing unlawful and accused the management of threatening employees to stop union activities. Bangladesh's labour law allows workers to form unions.
On January 29, 719 Banglalink employees formed the Union and named Ujjal as the president and Bakhtiar Hossain as the general secretary.
On February 7, it applied to the labour department to be registered as a union.
Meanwhile, the UNI Global Union wrote to Banglalink, expressing deep concern over recent events. Its General Secretary Philip Jennings urged Banglalink CEO Erik Asas to take swift actions.
“UNI Global Union calls upon you to immediately reinstate the dismissed union activist, and urges the company to refrain from any further actions that would delay or impair the lawful formation of the union,” the letter read.
