The president of the Labour Party, Mr Proinsias De Rossa TD, has criticised the Government's decision to remove worker directors from the board of Telecom Eireann as "totally contrary to the trend towards worker participation". He said "existing Irish worker participation legislation and practice is already very weak compared with the norm in countries such as Germany".
He called on the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, to restore the Telecom worker directors. "We should be seeking to extend the right of representation on the boards of major enterprises, and certainly not be abolishing worker directors where they are already in place."
Ms O'Rourke said she had already invited the Telecom Eireann unions to discuss the issue of worker directors in the context of talks on a successor to Partnership 2000. She had also appointed the former general secretary of SIPTU, Mr Billy Attley, to the board and the former Labour Party leader, Mr Dick Spring, represented workers' interests as shareholders.
Mr De Rossa said that while the presence of Mr Attley and Mr Spring on the board Eireann would "bring experience and a sense of social commitment", the telecom unions had made it clear this did not address the issue of democratically elected worker directors.
General secretary of the Communications Workers' Union Mr Con Scanlon said the unions intended pursuing the issue "not just in Telecom Eireann but in many other semi-state companies". He said the union alliance within Telecom Eireann would liaise with the other unions through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
He already had preliminary discussions with some worker directors in other companies, "who have indicated strong support for our position".