BTRC seeks 60% monthly allowance for employees

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has decided to seek government approval to give its officials and employees a monthly regulatory allowance equal to 60 percent of their basic salary.

The telecom regulator cited its revenue collection, employees’ specialised skills, restrictions on their employment after leaving the commission and benefits offered by other regulatory and revenue-collecting agencies as reasons for the allowance.

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The decision was made at the commission’s latest meeting last week, according to its documents. BTRC Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Md Emdad Ul Bari chaired the meeting, attended by four other commissioners.

The allowance will come into effect only if the government approves it. The BTRC will send a detailed proposal to the Posts and Telecommunications Division under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.

The BTRC said it has been a major non-tax revenue collector for more than two decades, with its earnings contributing to the national economy, digital connectivity and economic growth.

It collected Tk 3,885.24 crore in fiscal year 2025-26 and deposited Tk 3,402 crore with the government treasury.

Since 2001-02, the commission has collected Tk 85,779.82 crore, of which Tk 82,739.42 crore was deposited with the treasury.

The documents show that the BTRC exceeded its revenue target in each of the past five fiscal years. However, the gap between its collection and target narrowed sharply from about Tk 979 crore in 2021-22 to roughly Tk 55 crore in 2025-26.

Its revenue collection also fell by about 11 percent over the period, while treasury deposits declined from Tk 4,081.13 crore to Tk 3,402 crore.

The documents do not explain the roughly Tk 483 crore difference between the commission’s collection and treasury deposits in 2025-26.

Between 2005 and 2026, the BTRC also collected Tk 1,215.52 crore in administrative fines, merger fees and share transfer fees.

It said these charges helped maintain discipline in the telecom sector.

By comparison, the commission spent about Tk 2.45 crore a month on salaries and allowances, totalling Tk 617.4 crore over 21 years.

EMPLOYMENT RESTRICTIONS AND OTHER AGENCIES

The BTRC also pointed to a six-month post-employment restriction under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2026. Commissioners, employees and consultants cannot join a licensed company for six months after leaving the commission.

“This is a discriminatory rule, and commission employees should be compensated for it. There is no other organisation where employees are barred from joining a company in an area where they have expertise for six months,” Emdad Ul Bari told The Daily Star.

The documents say BTRC employees develop specialised skills in the telecom sector. The restriction could therefore leave them without income and reduce their job prospects after leaving, while housing, education and medical costs and loan instalments continue.

The BTRC described the restriction as unusual compared with typical post-employment rules and suggested financial safeguards to balance the public interest with employees’ livelihoods.

The commission also cited parity with other regulatory and revenue-collecting agencies. It said such organisations provide benefits in addition to regular salaries, although the names and rates differ.

“It’s a global standard practice for employees of organisations that collect revenue for the government to receive additional pay besides their regular salaries.”

Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission provide incentive bonuses equal to five basic salaries a year. The Anti-Corruption Commission provides a 20 percent risk allowance, while the National Board of Revenue offers a recovery incentive linked to revenue collection.

However, Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, criticised the proposal.

He said a monthly allowance equal to 60 percent of basic salary was “not acceptable” and “immoral”, arguing that the duties cited by the BTRC are already part of employees’ regular responsibilities.

“Those responsibilities are fundamentally part of their job descriptions. So, there is no scope for giving 60 percent, or any percentage, every month in such a blanket manner,” he said.

Employees could be rewarded for exceptional performance, but only under specific conditions and based on objective assessments, he said.

“If someone performs extraordinarily beyond their job description, a reward may be considered based on objective assessment,” he said, calling the blanket allowance unreasonable and an abuse of power.

He also rejected the six-month post-employment restriction as a justification for the allowance.

“This is part of the terms and conditions of the job, which they knew when they joined. The government has the jurisdiction to introduce such conditions. So, this is a lame argument and cannot be accepted as a justification,” he added.