Kerala, the land of strikes and hartals , observes a novel one today, probably a unique one to boast of. News paper agents in the state have started indefinite strike by boycotting news papers. Mouth-pieces of political parties like Deshabhimani, Janayugam, Chandrika, Janmabhumi and Veeskshanam are exempted.
Strikers demand 50% of the news paper - prize as commission, yearly bonus, provident fund etc and lot more. Now they get a commission of about 30%. Major news papers like Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Kerala kaumudi, under the aegis of Indian Newspaper Society (INS) are all opposing the demands. In their view, agents can not be considered as staff of a news paper, and the relation between a news paper and its agents is purely product - discount based. Product discount means, a product, like a bath soap, is offered to the seller at a lower prize and he resells it at the cover prize (MRP).
The strikers say, they can not meet the cost of distribution from the meager commission. Usually, agents with more than 100 copies hire news paper - boys (probably school - going children), on monthly remuneration basis, for distribution. Even a hike in the prize of petrol shoots the cost of distribution, as motor bikes are used for distribution. (Bicycle is rarity in God's own country!). An agent's duty starts at 3 am by collecting news paper bundles from the road. They sort it, insert supplements and start distribution before dawn. They work almost 365 days a year and can't take a holiday even on the death of a beloved person, the strikers point out.
The INS counters this by pointing out that, most of the agents do other jobs also, since their work end at 8 am.
Both parties are continuing argument. But what casts a shadow over the strikers, is the role of CITU, the trade unition of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the strike and also the timing of the strike. The protest is under the aegis of News paper Agent's Association (CITU) and Deshabhimani is excluded. March is the month at which Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) gathers figures on circution of each news paper. CPI(M) think tanks found an opportunity to promote the circulation of Deshabhimani, by timing the strike in March. A higher figure in ABC books means higher revenue from advertisements. Another major intention behind the formation of the Association is to tame Malayala Manorama, a major hurdle in the activities of CPI(M).
Any way, Malayalees are now forced to change their habit of starting the day with coffee on one hand and their beloved news paper on the other.
Strikers demand 50% of the news paper - prize as commission, yearly bonus, provident fund etc and lot more. Now they get a commission of about 30%. Major news papers like Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Kerala kaumudi, under the aegis of Indian Newspaper Society (INS) are all opposing the demands. In their view, agents can not be considered as staff of a news paper, and the relation between a news paper and its agents is purely product - discount based. Product discount means, a product, like a bath soap, is offered to the seller at a lower prize and he resells it at the cover prize (MRP).The strikers say, they can not meet the cost of distribution from the meager commission. Usually, agents with more than 100 copies hire news paper - boys (probably school - going children), on monthly remuneration basis, for distribution. Even a hike in the prize of petrol shoots the cost of distribution, as motor bikes are used for distribution. (Bicycle is rarity in God's own country!). An agent's duty starts at 3 am by collecting news paper bundles from the road. They sort it, insert supplements and start distribution before dawn. They work almost 365 days a year and can't take a holiday even on the death of a beloved person, the strikers point out.
The INS counters this by pointing out that, most of the agents do other jobs also, since their work end at 8 am.
Both parties are continuing argument. But what casts a shadow over the strikers, is the role of CITU, the trade unition of Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the strike and also the timing of the strike. The protest is under the aegis of News paper Agent's Association (CITU) and Deshabhimani is excluded. March is the month at which Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) gathers figures on circution of each news paper. CPI(M) think tanks found an opportunity to promote the circulation of Deshabhimani, by timing the strike in March. A higher figure in ABC books means higher revenue from advertisements. Another major intention behind the formation of the Association is to tame Malayala Manorama, a major hurdle in the activities of CPI(M).
Any way, Malayalees are now forced to change their habit of starting the day with coffee on one hand and their beloved news paper on the other.
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