THE Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the majority of Telecom Eireann employees, has engaged a US based investment bank, Keilin & Bloom, to assist it in securing at least 10 per cent of the state telecommunications company.

The Government, in its mandate for the strategic alliance, has set aside 5 per cent of shares for the staff. However, the unions aspirations are much more ambitious than that," according to the CWU's general secretary, Mr David Begg.

"Telecom Eireann's workforce want to be the third party in the company's strategic alliance," he told the CWU conference in Waterford yesterday. "We are urging the Government to make a substantial portion of the company's equity available to the staff on the basis of fair value."

Government sources last night suggested that Mr Begg was "marking out a claim for the next century. In four or five years' time, when the strategic alliance is digested he wants his members to be in a position of influence.

Although a spokesman for Mr Begg declined to specify what proportion of Telecom Eireann was being sought for employees, he said it was "substantially in excess of 10 per cent". "This is a £100 million plus deal," he said.

"Employee Share Ownership Programmes (ESOPs) are quite prevalent in the US, where 10,000 companies have more than 30 per cent of their shares owned by employees," Mr Begg told the conference. "This phenomenon is particularly strong in the restructured airline and steel industries, where four of the seven major airlines are employee owned."