Staff and some members of the University Co-Operative Bookshop are looking at ways to overturn the sacking last week of the general manager and two senior executives by the board of directors.
A fourth executive, the national retail manager, Michael Johnson, walked out in protest last Friday, but has returned to work on legal advice.
The co-op has more than half a million members throughout Australia and serves nearly all tertiary institutions and many schools. The ANU store is the co-op’s largest, and is the largest bookshop in Canberra.
Co-op sources at several stores in various cities say there is enormous anxiety among staff. Staff have been given no reason for the sacking.
A short unsigned press statement on co-op letterhead issued yesterday said the board had resolved on Friday “”that the services of Jack McLoone (general manager), Colin Bain (finance manager) and Guy Rodriguez (general manager schools division) were no longer required. “”The board wishes to publicly thank these people for their contribution to the Co-operative Bookshop over their years of service and wish them well in the future. The business of the Co-operative will continue as normal. New appointments are expected in the near future.”
The chairman of the board, James Emerson, said yesterday that the board had taken legal advice which was not to make any public comment about the sackings. The board had heard that legal action was likely.
Mr Emerson said he apologised for not being able to comment. However, when the board got legal advice that it could comment further it would make a statement to the media.
Another director, Maurice Dunlevy, who has been on the board for nine years, said that he had been notified of the special directors’ meeting the day before. The company secretary had told him there was only one agenda item: to heal the differences that had developed in 1992 and to begin the new year amicably. As he had a family commitment in Melbourne, Mr Dunlevy decided not to attend.
I asked Mr Emerson yesterday whether the sacking had been contemplated before the meeting and if so why weren’t they put on the agenda.
Mr Emerson said: “”I have no comment on that.”
He said any move like this was bound to affect staff and it was understandable they would have concerns. But there were no plans for job losses or staff cuts and staff and members should have no fears.
“”It is business as normal,” he said.
Staff members say they have been told that the board has told them that they no longer had the confidence of the executives, but nothing more.
The co-op sources say that 200 members and three directors could call a special general meeting which would have powers to overturn board decisions and perhaps force an election for the board. They say that of the 570,000 members, perhaps less than 1 per cent would have voted in elections for board positions. A third of the board is elected on rotation every year. In the past two years some long-serving directors with publishing, business and academic backgrounds have been defeated by some young accountants, who have argued for high directors’ fees and different rules for the election of directors.
The co-op had a turnover of $60 million last year with a profit of $1 million. It’s aims are not purely commercial, however. It was set up 34 years ago to ensure students got a satisfactory supply of academic books at a reasonable price.
Though an extraordinary meeting has been considered, co-op sources say it might misfire because not enough members could be attracted to it for it to truly reflect members’ views.
They say members had no notice of what was to happen with their co-op, little idea of what happened and no idea of why it happened.
“”The 570,000 members have a right know why the executives were sacked,” one source said. “”Were they guilty of some misconduct or was it just a personality clash?”
McLoone was given the chance to resign, but refused saying he and his colleagues had done nothing wrong. Mr Dunlevy said that Mr McLoone was an extremely competent manager and a man of utmost integrity. Mr Dunlevy said he had been taken by complete surprise and was concerned that academic, business and publishing experience on the board and in the executive was being lost.