NEWS THAT Eircom’s executives are facing a pay cut of up to 10 per cent seems to be cutting little ice with general workers at the telecoms group, who themselves face a 5 per cent reduction in their wages.

In a note circulated to members on Wednesday, Communications Workers Union chief executive Steve Fitzpatrick said “none of our members” should “volunteer for anything” until after the union has concluded a series of meetings with senior management about Eircom’s current financial difficulties.

Needless to say, workers have homed in on the €7.3 million remuneration paid to directors in the year to the end of June 2008.

Eircom’s annual bond report, issued last October to investors, shows that recently departed chief executive Rex Comb was trousering €750,000 in base salary. He was also entitled to a bonus of 100 per cent of his salary.

As head of retail, Cathal Magee, who has taken over from Comb on an interim basis, was earning €561,750. Peter O’Connell, director of strategy and regulation is the next biggest earner, pulling down a salary of €532,700. Finance chief Peter Cross is earning €472,500 while Meteor mobile phone boss Larry Smith is on a salary of €420,000.

This quartet of executives are eligible for bonuses of up to 75 per cent of their pay.

Aussie pair Comb and O’Connell also received an “accommodation allowance” – a perk that was also afforded to former executive chairman Pierre Danon, who had an apartment in leafy Ballsbridge.

Danon was paid €360,000 to spend half his working time with Eircom, plus a pension contribution.

With the employee Esot owning 35 per cent of the business, workers won’t take this lying down. Some are even comparing Eircom to George Orwell’s Animal Farm where “all animals are equal but some are more equal than others”.

A slight exaggeration, especially as the horses and donkeys didn’t pick up any tax-free cash.