Tyco is to stay in Bermuda, for now.

At the Annual General Meeting held at the Fairmont Hamilton yesterday, 73 per cent of votes cast rejected a proposal to repatriate to the United States.

However a coalition of unions and pension funds in favour of repatriation hailed the 26 percent of votes in favour of the proposal as a "resounding endorsement" of their opposition to Tyco's base in Bermuda.

Richard Ferlauto, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said: "They use siting here just as a tax dodge."

He said that it was clear that Tyco uses its Bermuda location to avoid taxes, but the question remains whether they have evaded taxes. Asked whether in his opinion, Bermuda-based corporations are less strictly regulated than under the US regulatory system, Mr Ferlauto said: "It's not opinion, it's a fact that they are less well regulated."

The coalition admitted that it has no plans to speak to the Bermuda regulator or any other government body in order to verify their views on Bermuda as a jurisdiction. However it revealed plans to make repatriation proposals at the AGM's of Ingersoll Rand and Cooper Industries in Bermuda.