Hundreds of laid-off employees of Grameenphone, a unit of Telenor in Bangladesh, has staged a demonstration on Tuesday, blocking all five gates of GP House in Bashundhara Residential area in Dhaka.

The protest confined over 1,500 employees inside the telecom company’s headquarters, as demonstrators demanded a 5 percent share of the company’s profits, delay penalties and reinstatement of their jobs.

The protesters began gathering in the morning, while security forces—including the Army, RAB and police—were deployed outside GP House by Tuesday evening.

Demonstrators accused Grameenphone of violating labour laws by laying off 3,360 workers under the guise of voluntary retirement and delaying the payment of dividends and other entitlements.

A Grameenphone employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Mirror Asia that he and many colleagues had been unable to leave the office since 5pm as all gates remained blocked.

“The authorities have not given us any instructions on when we can go home,” he said.

Protesters claimed that GP CEO Yasir Azman didn’t engage with them and likely left the office without addressing their concerns. Leaders of the movement further alleged that Azman had laid-off nearly 3,360 permanent workers by leveraging political ties with the ruling Awami League.

They also accused Grameenphone of disregarding Supreme Court rulings and filing baseless lawsuits to deny workers their rightful claims. In response, Grameenphone issued a statement saying that some former employees have been gathering in front of GP House over the last few days, raising various demands related to employment and benefits.

“The demands that are being raised by these individuals are currently subject matters of various cases before the courts. Grameenphone has high regard for the judicial process. Therefore, any legal proceedings will eventually be resolved through the court systems,” read the notes.

Grameenphone respects the law of the land and considers the safety and security of its employees and customers as its highest priority and law enforcement agency have deployed themselves around GP House to protect individuals and property, according to the official statement.