The Norwegian National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (NCP) has accepted for further examination a complaint filed by 21 former Grameenphone employees and union leaders against Telenor ASA over alleged anti-union practices, prolonged litigation and the Norwegian parent company's oversight of its Bangladeshi subsidiary.
In its initial assessment published Thursday, the independent Norwegian expert body said the complaint warrants further consideration of whether Telenor had met its responsibilities, particularly regarding due diligence and the use of its leverage to prevent or mitigate potential adverse impacts stemming from alleged anti-union activities at Grameenphone and lengthy court proceedings that the complainants say may have denied them effective access to remedy.
The NCP, however, stressed that its acceptance of the complaint does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing.
The expert body said it had made no determination on whether Telenor or Grameenphone had acted consistently with the OECD Guidelines. The NCP is not a court and cannot impose sanctions, order compensation or compel either party to participate in mediation.
The NCP promotes the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-opeartion and Development) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct and handles complaints concerning corporate conduct.
Under the NCP process, acceptance of a complaint means the office has found that the submission meets the basic criteria for further examination. It has offered its "good offices" to the parties, potentially through dialogue or mediation. If dialogue does not produce results within six months, the NCP will reassess whether further consideration remains appropriate.
Disputed dismissals in 2012
The complaint was filed on February 9, 2026 by Adeeba Zerin Chowdhury, then communications secretary of the Grameenphone Employees Union (GPEU), on behalf of herself and 20 other former employees and union members.
According to the complainants, the union's registration application was submitted on July 23, 2012, and more than 200 employees were terminated the following day because of their involvement in the union movement.
Seven members of the union committee, including its president, vice-president and communications secretary, were allegedly among those dismissed.
The complainants argue that the terminations violated Bangladesh's labour law as well as international standards on freedom of association and the right to organise.
The allegations have also been raised before the International Labour Organization's Committee on Freedom of Association.
Grameenphone has disputed the characterisation of the dismissals as anti-union terminations. In its response to the NCP, Telenor said the dismissals were part of a transformation initiative undertaken by Grameenphone during the first six months of 2012 in response to changing business requirements.
Seven-year wait for union recognition
The dispute was followed by a lengthy struggle for official recognition of the GPEU.
Bangladesh's labour authorities registered the union on March 7, 2019, seven years after its formation. Grameenphone subsequently recognised the union, signing an agreement with the GPEU on October 29, 2019, establishing a framework for dialogue, consultation and discussion.
The prolonged litigation is another key element of the NCP's decision.
Twenty-two former employees initially filed cases with the First Labour Court in September 2012. One later withdrew, leaving 21 complainants.
The complainants say procedural challenges have prolonged the cases and that continued delays could leave them without an effective remedy for decades.
The Supreme Court in 2023 rejected Grameenphone's challenge to the maintainability of the cases, clearing the way for the labour proceedings to continue.
Telenor acknowledged that systematic delays are a feature of Bangladesh's judicial system but denied deliberately prolonging the proceedings.
The NCP also did not conclude that Telenor or Grameenphone had deliberately caused the delays. Instead, it considered the length of the proceedings relevant to whether the complainants may have been denied effective access to remedy.
Adeeba Zerin Chowdhury said the complainants had exhausted domestic remedies and had raised the 2012 terminations with the ILO in 2022.
She said ILO recommendations issued in 2024 and 2026, calling for prompt and impartial examination of alleged anti-union discrimination and action to address the slow pace of justice, had not resulted in meaningful corrective measures.
She said the NCP found the allegations concerning the 2012 terminations, prolonged court proceedings and alleged denial of effective remedy sufficiently material and substantiated to warrant further consideration, including Telenor's due diligence and use of leverage.
Telenor-Grameenphone link
The NCP's acceptance of the complaint is significant given Telenor's relationship with Grameenphone.
Telenor owns 55.8 per cent of Grameenphone, while five of the operator's 10 board members are from Telenor, including the chair.
The NCP found a sufficient link between Telenor and the allegations through its majority ownership and concluded that the parent company's due diligence and use of leverage warranted further examination.
It also rejected Telenor's argument that parallel proceedings prevented it from offering its good offices, saying its process concerns Telenor's responsibilities under the OECD Guidelines rather than the legal questions before Bangladeshi courts.
Labour experts welcome move
Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies Executive Director and Labour Reform Commission head Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed welcomed the NCP decision, calling it a significant step towards greater accountability for multinational companies operating in Bangladesh.
He said the case could become a benchmark for other multinational companies and strengthen trade unions' leverage, while stressing that the NCP process should supplement, rather than replace, Bangladeshi law.
Trade union leader Babul Akhtar said the case should be examined seriously, particularly because it involves allegations that workers were dismissed in connection with efforts to form and register a trade union.
He argued that parent companies should bear responsibility when subsidiaries or affiliated entities violate workers' rights and called for stronger implementation of the OECD Guidelines, ILO conventions and national labour laws.
He also supported an independent and transparent arbitration mechanism for faster labour dispute resolution, while saying parties should retain access to courts and appeals.
Grameenphone response
When contacted, Grameenphone said, "We are aware that the Norwegian OECD National Contact Point has decided in its initial assessment to consider some of the issues raised by a small number of former employees of Grameenphone. The complaint concerns labour rights and is directed at Telenor."
The NCP has not reached any conclusion on the allegations, GP told The FE.
"However, NCP found that the complaint regarding the alleged non-payment of WPPF interest does not merit further consideration and should be resolved through the ongoing court proceedings in Bangladesh," it added.
Grameenphone also said the NCP process was intended to facilitate dialogue rather than establish wrongdoing.
It emphasised that the employment-separation issue remains before Bangladeshi courts and that the NCP had reached no conclusion on the allegations.
