Airtel employees are free to leave Robi under a voluntary retirement scheme after the two operators merge, if they do not want to be a part of the merged entity.

All 450 employees of Airtel will get the benefit under the scheme, which will be of international standards.

The development, which was chalked up by the telecom regulator, will go some way toward assuaging the nerves of Airtel's employees who fear job losses after the merger. 

Grameenphone announced a similar scheme in June, which was taken up by about 350 employees.

According to Grameenphone's programme, employees in three categories, based on the tenure of service, will receive the scheme benefit.

They received a minimum of 24 basic salaries and a maximum of 70 basic salaries, depending on their positions.

The regulator has also imposed a condition that it should be informed of news of termination of any Airtel employee who joins the merged company with reason for three years after the merger.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission will place the issue of the merger before the High Court for final approval today, said Barrister Khandaker Reza-E-Raquib, legal consultant of the regulator.

The telecom watchdog has also fixed Tk 100 crore as merger fee and Tk 507 crore as spectrum adjustment price for Robi, which the operator has to pay after the court's verdict, according to the No Objection Certificate for the merger.

The merged entity should clear the payments before the completion of the final paper work at the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms.

Robi and Airtel applied for merger in September last year.

Meanwhile, 650 employees of Citycell fear job losses after the regulator warned of suspension of operations any moment now if the operator does not clear its dues of Tk 477.51 crore.

The telecom regulator has recently advised Citycell users to find alternative service providers by August 16.