News and Fairfax are said to being close to putting new distribution contracts to newsagents for their consideration. The current contracts were negotiated in 1999 as part of the process of deregulation of newspaper and magazine distribution in Australia.
While newsagents and those who represent them will focus on the terms of the proposed contracts, I’d suggest newsagents first consider whether contracts are appropriate.
Distribution newsagents beat themselves up every day fulfilling their obligations under the current contracts for, in most cases, less than minimum wage.
Newsagents are paid less in real terms today for every newspaper they handle than ten years ago when the current contracts were negotiated. Newsagents cannot sustain themselves as the working poor.
By saying no to contracts we are saying no to being a distribution newsagent. This would be a big deal for most newsagents as we would be rejecting the very purpose for which our channel was created.
Not having a contract would give newsagents more freedom to define their own future. While many may fear such an opportunity, others have already found the freedom to be personally and financially rewarding.
I’d encourage newsagents and their associations to open debate on this and seriously question whether having a contract is important.
For the new contracts to be interesting, they need to improve compensation for newsagents and provide more local business control over the profitability of newspaper distribution. They would need to allow newsagents to be business people and not process workers.
I think contracts are completely unecessary. They have only been used by publishers as a method of control over newsagents. They offer no real protection because they have always been extremely one sided. It would give newsagents a greater amount of flexibilty and control over their businesses.
Daniel, maybe it is just you and me who are concerned about this. I expected this topic would go off! If I were a distribution newsagent it would be top of mind for me.
Would refusing a contract have the same effect as throwing in the delivery run ie. you would then become a subagent?
What if the publishers find a large percentage of agents refusing contracts? Could marketing groups negotiate contracts on different terms for their members? Will the publishers put a contract on the table with the attitude of “here it is – take it or leave it”?
The implications and connotations are many and much discussion needs to take place on this topic.
I’m not a delivery agent, so I don’t understand the whole thing, but could ideas be brought up like: Current commission per paper reflecting current fuel price for that week?
We are in furious agreement, thats all Mark. I for one have no interest in contracts with publishers; they are not in our interest. From the time we purchased I have been intrigued as to why someone else thinks they have control of our business… We signed up because we had no choice, we have been happily ignoring their existence ever since.
James
we need an industry body to look at these contracts .as all seem to do nothing how do we start one that will help? we as an industry have been held in contempt by news and fairfax since day one .i understand that you feel that you had to sign your contract i have done the same thing my self but now we need to stand up and have our say.
cheers andy
Yes James We just ignore them also, News in nsw are so desperate to keep their readership they wont lift the price of the paper and resort to cutting supply. I can’t be bothered ringing them any more.
One would understand the requirement for a contract if there was a competitor likely to get in the way, or if News Ltd were actually offering something real to newsagents. This is not the case. The current contracts with NewsLtd are simply a list of rules and demands from them. They offer this on a take it or leave it basis. No negotiation, no fair exchange of anything really. But they do it because they know it scares the crap out of newsagents (ok, just me) that we might lose a big chunk of our income (mainly from the subs really) if we don’t sign.