Cellphone credit rechargers observe strike

Providers of credit recharging service of mobile phones kept their shops closed in the northern part of the capital on Thursday demanding a raise in commissions, stated the president of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Recharge Baboshaye Association yesterday.
The strike, called by the association, was participated by some 20,000 of the service providers in Gulshan, Farmgate, Shyamoli, Mohammadpur, Uttara and Adabar, said the president, Aminul Islam Bulu.
Bulu said they had demanded a commission of Tk 100 from the country's mobile phone operators for recharging every Tk 1,000 in the mobile phones of customers.
At present they receive a commission of Tk 27 for every Tk 1,000 recharge, which is not adequate to cover the expenses of the credit recharging service providers, he said.
“Over the last three years, we have demanded that the telecom operators increase the recharge commission but the operators have never listened to us or taken any step in this regard.
“We can not even pay the shop rent with the meagre amount we get out of this business,” he said.
An official of a mobile operator said nobody takes credit recharging service of mobile phones as a business but more of a means to earn some extra money and so the demand was not valid.