The General Secretary of the Communication Workers' Union has said that Eircom workers intend to be major players in shaping the future of the company. Con Scanlon was addressing the annual delegate conference of the CWU, which represents 20,000 workers in Eircom and An Post. Workers at Eircom currently own 15% of the company, so any potential bidder for the fixed line business of Eircom will have to negotiate with them.
Speaking at the conference in Tralee, Mr Scanlon said that the financial advisers of the employee share ownership plan, or ESOP, have been talking to the consortia bidding for the remainder of Eircom's business. This process is set to intensify in the coming weeks, he said, and the union is determined to be a major player in the shaping of the new Eircom. While he stopped short of saying what percentage of the new company they expect to control, he said that there is a figure below which they will not go, and it is generally expected that they want at least 30%.
Mr Scanlon had harsh words for the management of Eircom. He said that the decision to sell Eircell to Vodafone was a bombshell to staff and unions alike. He added that CEO Alfie Kane's strategy for the future of Eircom lies in ruins. He said that Eircom had quit the UK market, they were selling their jewel Eircell, they had scaled back on their multi-media ambitions and the remaining business in Eircom had a number of suitors lining up. "The word on everybody's lips in Eircom is 'Do they know what they're doing?' and generally there is little confidence among staff that they do," he said.
