THE leader of the main union in Telecom Eireann has called on the Government to allocate at least 10 per cent of the company's shares to the workforce. Under the terms of reference for the new strategic alliance, the Government is only proposing 5 per cent.
However, Mr David Begg, general secretary of the Communications Workers Union, said employees should be asked to pay for the shares rather than be given them free.
He also said a survey commissioned by his union showed more than half of business executives with responsibility for telecommunications in their company felt they were not sufficiently informed to take a view on the merits of a strategic alliance partnership for Telecom Eireann.
The survey showed significant differences between multinational companies based in Ireland and indigenous firms about what the priorities should be in negotiating a strategic alliance.
Mr Begg was addressing the Environment and Business Issues Committee of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night. Referring to the 5 per cent allocation - already approved by the Government, he said: "Frankly, this is merely a wage incentive and not what the CWU would be interested in. A minimum of 10 per cent would be necessary to mean anything in participation terms."
"However, in calling for a minimum allocation of 10 per cent of the company's shares to the workforce, I am not demanding that the shares should be given out free gratis. As a matter of fact, people rarely value what comes free.
"The shares should be made available via an employee share option programme which will allow the shareholding to be bought over a period of time, and which reflects in price the value added to Telecom Eireann by the efforts of the staff over the last 10 years."
Mr Begg said the strategic future of the telecommunications industry in Ireland was a question "which is second only in importance to the issue of our participation in the EMU".
He said the CWU had commissioned research by Irish Marketing Surveys to establish existing awareness of telecommunications developments within Irish industry. Some 150 companies were covered by the survey.
It showed that between a half and two thirds of business executives responsible for telecommunications were not sufficiently informed to take a view on the merits of a strategic alliance partnership. "The views and opinions of the 60 per cent were more likely to be influenced by media coverage than by experience," he said.
On the most important factor in determining a partner in a strategic alliance, 40 per cent put service, quality and reliability first, 39 per cent opted for cost reductions and 17 per cent went for long term technological advances and superior technology.