The main unions in Telecom Eireann have warned the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, that the appointment of the former SIPTU leader, Mr Billy Attley, to the company board does not meet their demand for worker-directors. They are now to campaign for the retention of worker-directors on the boards of all semi-state companies facing restructuring because of privatisation or strategic alliances.
Ms O'Rourke wrote to Mr Attley on Friday notifying him formally of his appointment, following the forced resignation of the worker-directors on Wednesday.
Yesterday the general secretary of the Communications Workers' Union, Mr Con Scanlon, and the deputy general secretary of IMPACT, Mr Shay Cody, welcomed Mr Attley's appointment but said it was purely a matter for the Government.
Both men said they had made it "explicit" to Ms O'Rourke that Mr Attley's appointment did not address the issue of direct worker representation.