Union threatens to block Eircom takeover

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has warned it will block any sale of Eircom to Australian firm Babcock & Brown unless it receives assurances in relation to pay and conditions, future employment and investment in the company.

CWU general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick said the CWU had one meeting with Babcock & Brown executives, who assured them they had no problem working with unions. Another meeting is planned for next Wednesday.

"The meeting was cordial but our members in Eircom have undergone four changes of ownership in the past nine years since the company was privatised and we want written assurances that pay and conditions will be maintained.

"The company is loaded with debt and we want to know what the future holds for the company if it's taken over by Babcock & Brown and what the future is for jobs and investment in the company," said Mr Fitzpatrick.

Mr Fitzpatrick said that Babcock & Brown had not given any indication that they would not honour existing agreements, but he believed the best way of reassuring CWU members of their intentions would be to give the union written assurances.

The issue had earlier been raised by CWU president Jerry Browne in his address to the union's biennial conference in Cork, where he said that the possible break up of Eircom upon any takeover was a cause for major concerns for CWU members in the company.

Mr Browne also expressed concern about the regulation of communications industries by ComReg and said that many CWU members were not convinced the present regulatory regime achieved the necessary balance between introducing competition and providing for investment. He said that the time was right in this era of social partnership for the Government to embrace views of workers in the communications sector as part of any future regulatory regime.

"I therefore now call on the Government and in particular on Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey to develop long overdue, coherent and cohesive national strategies in relation to the communications industry with the involvement of all stakeholders," he said.