In 1912 Thurston-Flavelle employed 125 workers, of whom 80 were Chinese, 4 or 5 Japanese, and 6 Sikh. On average the white workers earned 2.25$ for a 10 hour day while the Japanese and Sikh workers earned 1.95$ and the Chinese workers earned 1.85$. And unlike the white workers, the Chinese were not given individual cheques. Instead Thurston-Flavelle made out one monthly cheque to Jai Tai, the Chinese labour contractor who also ran a store and boarding house for the Chinese workers. Tai then paid all the Chinese mill workers. However, Tai ran into difficulties when he tried to cash the first cheque because it was for several thousand dollars. The Royal Bank in Port Moody would not cash the cheques without adding an exchange charge so Jai Tai went to the Bank of Montreal in Vancouver that would not cash such a big cheque for a man in regular working clothes whom they did not know. After a phone call from Thurston-Flavelle the Royal Bank in Port Moody agreed to cash Jai Tai's cheques. Although the Japanese and Sikh workers received their own cheques, they were known not by names but by numbers.