Union representatives boycott Telekom Austria Slim pact vote

By Georgina Prodhan

VIENNA (Reuters) - A key vote to agree a shareholder pact at Telekom Austria between tycoon Carlos Slim and the Austrian government was boycotted by five members of a 14-person board on Wednesday, three sources familiar with the situation said.

A majority of the supervisory board of the OIAG state holding company would have to vote in favour of the pact, which would open the way for Slim to take control of Telekom Austria. It was not immediately clear how many of the other nine board members were in attendance. A Reuters reporter saw at least four arriving for the meeting.

The five labour union representatives on the board were unhappy that the contract did not contain Austrian job guarantees, did not ensure that the Austrian government would maintain industrial leadership and did not specify the strategy the company would follow, one of the sources said.

The source added that the contract included a provision for a 1 billion euro (833.4 million pounds) rights issue of new stock by Telekom Austria, but did not specify what the funds would be used for.

An OIAG spokesman said the board meeting was still in progress but declined further comment.

(Additional reporting by Angelika Gruber; Editing by David Holmes)