What Suppliers. ought to know.

Northland Age, Volume 2, Issue 43, 28 July 1933, Page 1

What Suppliers. ought to know.

Sir, —I consider that Kaitaia Dairy Company suppliers should be informed of the following points : That when I first became a director to the Kaitaia Dairy Company there had been in existence for a considerable time a selling committee, consisting of three directors. I was immediately placed on the selling committee. Things went quite smoothly for a while, but I never liked the method of selling. Had the members of the selling committee met at intervals and discussed prices, and then decided whether to sell at the F. 0.8. prices offered, or to wait for a better offer, or to sell on consignment, it would have been quite a legitimate method, but when those three directors were each rung up by the secretary, at their separate homes, and practically told what to do, it seemed to me to be a horse of quite a different colour. Eventually there came a time when I flatly objected to the F. 0.8. price offered and was told by the secretary that the other two had consented to sell at that price. I rang the other members of the committee to discuss matters with them, but found that they had gone out for the day. I then rang Mr. Micliie and he did not like the price offered so I went to Kaitaia to see the secretary, and told him that when there was such a difference of opinion we should get in touch with the other members of the board, but I was curtly told that there were two against one and that there was only an hour to decide. I resigned from the selling committee at the next meeting of the board and dealt, a death blow to an organisation that was open to abuses aud one that never should have existed.

That before Ml. L. Gallagher’s appointment to the Kaitaia office staff, the secretary stated at a board meeting that Mr. Gallagher had finished with the Lands Department, and suggested that he should be added to the office staff, as he considered they were understaffed. However it was decided to call for applications, applicants to state salary. There was a large number of applicants, many of them accompanied by good testimonials. Among them was a young fellow of excellent character, who had gained his matriculation, and was well known by one member of the board, applying at 30/- a week; but the position was given to Mr. Gallagher at £3 10/- per week, the secretary saying that if lie could not get the one he wanted he would ask the Board to install office machinery that would enable him to do without any extra staff.

That at a meeting two years ago when I proposed that we should have a change of auditors for the ensuing year, the secretary said “if you do decide to have a change I hope you won’t get those fellows that come around here.”

That when our present manager sent in his application for the position his terms were £550 per annum, witli an additional £SO per annum from the end of the first year if he should make good. These were accepted by the directors. At the end of the year, with the manager sitting at the table, before any reference was made to the rise to which he was due, a director proposed that the secretary’s salary should be raised from £420 to £soo—talk about pin pricking, isn’t that more like getting a dig in the ribs with a crow-bar ?

On another occasion a night meeting was called to discuss extensive improvements to the factory. When the then chairman said that we would commence the meeting, a director asked if we would not wait until the manager arrived, and received the answer that he had not been invited, also stating that it

looked as if we wanted to make an eighth director of the manager. So we got to business or tried to, hut could make no headway, und might just as well have stayed at home. At last the manager who heard of the meeting by some unknown means arrived, rather an angry man, as was only natural, but in a very short time lie had everything straightened up. In all the salary cuts the manager who was the only servant of the company who had been promised a rise in salary if lie should make good, lias been the greatest victim, in fact the only victim.

From the above facts, it must be evident that a majority of the board members are not prepared to give the manager a fair spin. Yours, etc., Dan LEWIS.