VimpelCom fires union leaders in Bangladesh

VimpelCom’s Bangladeshi subsidiary Banglalink has dismissed four prominent members of the Banglalink Employees Union (BLEU) for their leadership in the union, UNI Global Union said in a statement. 

Two of the union leaders were also members of the BLEU executive committee, and one of them was on leave when he was informed about the decision over phone. The company also posted a note on the entrance to the Banglalink office with the names and the pictures of the four unionists concerned, in a move clearly designed to deter future union activism. 
The dismissals were also in apparent retaliation for an OECD case that UNI filed against VimpelCom, as they occurred only days after UNI and the company met with the Dutch National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines. The OECD case brought to light the consistent and targeted anti-union efforts by Banglalink management, as they have fought BLEU through harassment, intimidation, and dismissals of union members and leaders. BLEU was formed on 7 February 2016.
UNI Global Union strongly condemns Banglalink’s actions and has called upon VimpelCom to put an end to the anti-union actions in Banglalink and to reinstate the dismissed workers. 
Says Alke Boessiger, Head of UNI ICTS: “This is an outrageous case of retaliation by VimpelCom only days after UNI filed an OECD case. Banglalink and VimpelCom need to respect workers’ fundamental right to organize and workers must be protected from retaliation. We demand that these workers be reinstated immediately”.
Banglalink is the second largest telecom operator in Bangladesh after Telenor-owned Grameenphone.

VimpelCom fires union leaders in Bangladesh

VimpelComs Bangladeshi subsidiary Banglalink has dismissed four prominent members of the Banglalink Employees Union (BLEU) for their leadership in the union, UNI Global Union said in a statement. Two of the union leaders were also members of the BLEU executive committee, and one of them was on leave when he was informed about the decision over phone. The company also posted a note on the entrance to the Banglalink office with the names and the pictures of the four unionists concerned, in a move clearly designed to deter future union activism. The dismissals were also in apparent retaliation for an OECD case that UNI filed against VimpelCom, as they occurred only days after UNI and the company met with the Dutch National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines. The OECD case brought to light the consistent and targeted anti-union efforts by Banglalink management, as they have fought BLEU through harassment, intimidation, and dismissals of union members and leaders. BLEU was formed on 7 February 2016. UNI Global Union strongly condemns Banglalinks actions and has called upon VimpelCom to put an end to the anti-union actions in Banglalink and to reinstate the dismissed workers. Says Alke Boessiger, Head of UNI ICTS: This is an outrageous case of retaliation by VimpelCom only days after UNI filed an OECD case. Banglalink and VimpelCom need to respect workers fundamental right to organize and workers must be protected from retaliation. We demand that these workers be reinstated immediately. Banglalink is the second largest telecom operator in Bangladesh after Telenor-owned Grameenphone.