A public service union has expressed "serious concern" at the scale of payments to Eircom board members, including representatives of the Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT). Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent, reports.
The Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) said that the size of the payments "simply cannot be justified" and said it intended to raise the matter with other unions.
Its concerns are outlined in a circular to branch secretaries in Eircom, where the CPSU has about 600 members.
The prospectus for Eircom's return to the stock market, published last month, revealed that the four executive directors have received packages of about €29 million from the company over the past two-and-a-half years.
Six directors held shares worth a total of €7.75 million, heading into the flotation, some of which they sold.
Among the beneficiaries was the ESOT chairman at Eircom, Mr Con Scanlon, who was given shares worth in excess of €580,000. Mr Scanlon is one of two ESOT representatives on the Eircom board, of which he is deputy chairman. He is paid fees of €106,000 for that role, in addition to a similar salary he draws in his capacity as general secretary of the Communications Workers' Union.
He is also to receive pension payments from Eircom worth €1 million over the next 10 years and a lump sum payment of €230,000, the prospectus revealed.
The CPSU circular, which has been seen by The Irish Times, does not refer to any director by name. It is marked for the attention of CPSU members in Eircom and is signed by the CPSU general secretary, Mr Blair Horan, and assistant secretary, Mr Paul MacSweeney. It refers initially to the level of payments made to Eircom board members and executives in general.
"Given that the now privatised company was originally a State asset funded by taxpayers, the current level of debt and the contribution made by staff to make the company more competitive, then the scale of the payments involved to individuals simply cannot be justified."
The circular adds that the CPSU was not aware, until informed by media reports, that ESOT representatives on the Eircom board were receiving "significant remuneration in excess of the norm for staff representatives on company boards".
The matter was not brought to the attention of the union coalition at Eircom, it says.
"The executive committee of the CPSU expressed serious concern at these developments at its recent meeting and about the damage it could do to the whole principle of ESOPS (employee share ownership plans). It is evident that there needs to be transparency and accountability in respect of these matters."
The union has asked that the matter be on the agenda for the next meeting of the Eircom group of unions.
As the ESOT chairman, Mr Scanlon played a key role in ensuring that the €3 billion Valentia bid for Eircom in 2001, led by Sir Anthony O'Reilly, defeated the rival offer by Mr Denis O'Brien's eIsland. Attempts to contact him yesterday were unsuccessful.
