Further to my post on Saturday about the response by News Limited to the problem of overweight newspapers, I have been sent several copies of letters received by newsagents. On state based letterhead, News has effectively sent the same letter to all recipients. In the letter, three and a half years after newsagents raised serious concerns about overweight newspapers and the prospect of implications for OH&S, News says that newsagents are responsible for OH&S issues stemming from newspaper delivery. This has some newsagents seething. It’s been put to me that newsagents could form a legal fund to challenge the position of News Limited.
As I noted on the weekend, I think newsagents should consider…
- Re-engage David Nery for a response.
- Talk with Worksafe and other state government OH&S bodies for an opinion.
- Talk with insurance companies to determine liability on the insured should an injury claim be made relating to this issue.
- Assemble a team of experts to research and guide a whole of industry response. The team would include an appropriately skilled lawyer, OH&S expert, medical expert, a newspaper deliverer and a newsagent.
- Discuss with the federal government funding opportunities to help newsagents pay for the necessary research and advice in navigating such a complex issue.
- Set a timeline for progress on this.
- Seek agreement from News Limited to engage nationally given that they are dealing with it internally nationally.
Point 2 is a stumbling block in itself.
For instance, we’re still waiting for a response to a question regarding this issue for newsagents in particular. In fact, I’d forgotten all about it until this conveniently-timed load of bulltwang landed in our inbox near EOB before a long weekend.
It’s been.. oh, hang on – I’ll just find the hand – deliveredletterwherethe circmanagercan’tunderstand whywe’reevenworried coswedon’tthrowenough paperstoinjurea fleaamongothercrap – and when we got it, which will tell me how long we’ve been waiting.. Oh yes, since January. That’s when I thought I’d try to see what kind of obstacles would be in our way should push come to shove, since receiving the response we did from a certain circ manager.
Which tells me (just musing here) that involving the government agencies responsible for safe work practices will take a very long time to come to the party regarding devising and implementing industry-specific sets of frameworks and procedures. Unfortunately, experiences in my work and academic background before becoming a business owner would bear this out.
However, as a relative newbie to this occupation, I’m amazed that the respective representative bodies didn’t have this process initiated way back in 2006. It’s as if the workplace safety organisations hadn’t even been approached at that time. Please, somebody correct me here. Please, please tell me that Worksafe et al were waiting for a counter-study from News. That would be as shameful as News’ recent announcement.
Oh, and if I were one of the many circulation managers who were required to put their names to those memoranda, in all good conscience, I’d have refused – or at least protested very strongly – at its intent and motive, not to mention the way it so unashamedly sabotages any credibility it might have set out to assert. Then again, having had the odd exchange with a couple of these types, it wouldn’t have been too difficult for some, given the culture of their company.
And another thing. The total absence of academic rigour while talking up ‘evidence’ is not worthy of the two minutes of my life it took to read. It also reflects a total absence of maturity, respect, and education. It also reflects the dangers posed to those who undertake a research project whose only objective is to uphold the imperative of those commissioning it. That in itself is enough to at least wish to dismiss any findings under such circumstances. Disregard my earlier comments about intellectual property. I reckon this guy deserves to have his findings twisted. If only we could have access to them ourselves. Ugh.
Well we have to do something to protect our rights. The alternative is facing a massive worksafe claim.
Probably not helping much,just share my experience.
I used to return paper to Herald sun every Monday, once we got a paper overweight(Herald sun said) like 16kg which over the limit for 1 kg, their pickup driver refused to pick up and ask me to drive like 2 hours all the way down to their return center in far far away.
How in the hell can Newsagents be responsible for overweight newspapers. ?????
Add to this wide nature strips, tall fences,missing and then replaced newspapers because of the above issues and you have a system that is proned to OHand S problems.
Get real News before you trype such rubbish. That is offensive…
While on the subject please tell me what right News has to dictate to us what we charge a customer for home delivery and especially account fees. The reaosn I say this is because I have over 1450 accounts and a lot of customers book magazines stationery etc on the accounts which I choose to conduct for business reasons.
I have sevn business accounts where the main trading on the account is stationery purchaes and they pay $5 a month account keeping fee.
Proactive,
If you employ the driver and tell him to throw them then you are responsible.
I question the Hely summary (Or what News has provided of it).
Someone with that background should have thought about 800 x 1.3kgs = 1040 kgs worth of throwing motion, with driving the car as well, must equal a substantial amount of lactic acid built up in the driver due to that kind of weight compared to a lighter paper (which lesson the risk of injury.
The Nery report is more aligned with common sense it seems to me.
If News wants to be taken seriously on this matter they should have responded sooner and with something of more substance than the letter of last week. Newsagents let them get away with not responding.
The question is whether newsagents will have the guts to fight. I doubt it. I suspect News knows this.
mark, we dont have a united front to fight this… thats what i think news is happiest about. while ever there is fighting between the anf and state bodies, we will just not get any where.
Did anybody else request and receive a copy of Max Hely’s study?
I would argue that the report presebted to us by News Ltd is their findings and it suits them in this context to display both reports / findings to Newsagents and then accept the “better off scenario” in their eyes to portray to the Industry.
If the report was independantly sourced and I mena that News Ltd did not have anything to do with its fomration then I would be kinder in my comments about the outcome.
Think again News !!