Furious PIAA members have given the Board until Friday to accede to a set of demands it has sent them in a letter, otherwise it will call a Special General Meeting, with the aim of a no confidence vote in the Board.
The SGM was first proposed last week, but then postponed in the wake of David Leach’s resignation as president, now however it will likely go ahead if the Board refuses to meet the demands, which it almost certainly will do.
The letter is signed by Tom Eckersley from Print Approach in Queensland. He says, “The ball is now in the Board’s court.”
In terms of numbers the call for the SGM has more than 50 signatories as required. The PIAA has more than 1000 members, not all of whom will be supportive of the SGM or its aims.
The disaffected members, mainly from Queensland, have been tipped over the edge by the Board selecting two non-printers from their midst for the roles of president and deputy president. New president Ross Black works for paper merchant BJ Ball while new deputy president Kieran May works for a business consultancy.
The demands include the immediate departure of CEO Jason Allen – who is due to leave April 1 – the re-employment of a dismissed Queensland PIAA staffer Mel Ireland, the reinstatement former SA state manager Peter Mansfield and former Victorian state manager Ron Patterson, all on the same pay as when they were dismissed.
[Related: Members heated response to PIAA]
The demands also include a new system of at least two printers from each state to be on the Board and they want the Board members to replace the vacancies created by the resignations of David Leach, Susan Heaney and Stephen Edwards to be nominated by members in their States, rather than the board.
The signatories to the demands also list certain characteristics of the person that will be appointed as the new CEO, and want a representative group of members to vet him or her before the role is offered.
Other demands include the cessation of the renting out of local and state offices, and the return of all heritage items to the PIAA.
How an SGM – which would be the first in the PIAA’s 170 year history – would work in practice is unclear, the practicalities of where it would be held, how members would attend, who would chair the meeting have never been tested.
The PIAA has been battling an increasing crisis since first Susan Heaney suddenly resigned two months ago, followed by CEO Jason Allen – who had barely been in the role for six months – with David Leach next out of the door following a string of abusive phone calls and emails. Stephen Edwards resigned yesterday.
Members are upset by what they perceive as a lack of transparency from the PIAA and Board, along with the large numbers of staff departures, and the sale of the major asset, the national HQ in Auburn, and the much touted three year strategic plan, which completely passed over the heads of many members, as it was released ina fairly oblique email, and which wasn't a plan at all, just a series of managament mantras.
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