THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND'S PROFITS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 226, 18 June 1919, Page 8

THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND'S PROFITS

Sir,—l crave aagin a,few lines of your already generously-given space to reply to Mr.' Beauchamp's defence of the bank's treatment of its staff, and I think any fair-minded business man, on reading same, will at once say that Mr. Beauclmmp made out a very poor case for the defence. He states with apparent satisfaction that the "average" salary of men getting <£200 a year and upwards has increased by X-10-that is 20 per cent, —since 1904. What a damning admission, when one compares the position of the bank to-day with what it was in 1904 1 But. Sir, this statement will not bear analysis. Whilst it may be true tha<" the average salary has increased by 20 per cent., this is due to the increased salaries now being paid to the higher and best-paid men in the service ns compared with 1904 —the increase being (is much ns 100 per cent, in individual 'cases. The average improvement among the lower-pnid men is not 20 per cent., or anything like it! r Mr. Beauchamp also assumes that the men who have conducted the agitation for improvement are a handful of disgruntled failures. I can assure Mr. Beauchamp he is wrong again. To>my knowledge more than one'of your correspondents have been men whom I think even Sir. Beauchamp would admit are not failures. Furthermore, to my personal knowledge' the sentiments expresed have been hbartily approved by more than one man high in the bank's service. Mr. Beauchamp opines that if a volo were taken of the staff a great majority would be found to oxpress their satisfaction with their present condition. I challenge Mr. Beauchamp to take such n vote. If he really credits what he appears to have been told I think tho result will surprise liim! Surely the big majority of tho staff who have so promptly supported the newly-formed associa--tion, whose first, plank is improvement in salaries,' is a refutation of his assumption. It would be interesting to know "if the two or three branches (out of over 200) who expressed satisfaction with their present treatment would have passed the same resolution had the recent increases in salary then been known to them! Mr. Beauchamp makes a great point of the generosity of the directors to the bank's Provident Fund. This we acknowledge frankly and appreciate, but we must be' excused if we are just now more concerned with our present conditions rather than with conditions that will arise some twenty or thirty years hence— a period which many of us may not survive throv,?h. Thftfplain fact, is that our directors are-wantincriin breadth of -view,; and are ciuite out of sympathy with' the. staff, to the detriment of the /bank's future and the interests of the,shareholders. We feel deeply indebted to Mr. Skerrett and 'Mr. Weston, and we still hope that with such influential backing something like fair treatment may yet be meted out to us. The agitation will continue until it is!—l am, etc., ONE OF THE STAFF.