Let’s follow up our classic double meaning heading with the
statement that a number of our QVMAC Trader representatives are concerned at
the increased workloads placed on their unpaid
(note to editor – please put “unpaid” in bold) roles at QVM and want something
done about it.
And let’s get one important thing out of the way first - no
sympathy for the plight of Trader Representatives is expected from traders who
have an absolute entitlement to professional representation, particularly given
the turmoil ahead of our market. But, there is simply too much going on in
management/trader and trader/trader communications for 8 dedicated representatives to handle professionally.
Three QVMAC Trader Representatives got together yesterday
and discovered that each of them had spent most of their Friday attending to a
multitude of trader matters. There was the follow-up to matters raised at the
previous days QVMAC meeting. There was the sequence of emails concerning a
trader’s complaint of conflict of interest within the QVMAC. In the end the
trader received a satisfactory response but these are serious issues and
handling them speedily and correctly is important and time-consuming. Then
there was the trader who had been fined for leaving their storage box on an
adjoining stall while a neighbour who did the same thing, didn’t get fined. Then
there was the trader who had watched their competitor slowly introduce new
lines onto their stall with no apparent control from management, and the trader
who had been photographed by security for late packing up but had a good excuse.
One of our QVMAC Trader Representatives who keeps records on
these things, recently dealt with over 40 trader issues in one week and brought
each one to a conclusion. Some things are easily answered like rule
interpretation, while others, like the recently concluded box storage
arrangement for casuals, takes weeks of work.
But, enough of the complaints. What do we do about this? One proposition involves the employment of a paid person, permanently located
within the market, preferably with an office, who could address trader issues, direct traders in the right course of action, liaise with management, co-ordinate Trader Representative activities and
generally add some professionalism to this important task. There is a lot to
consider here. There are many alternatives, and they all require resourcing.
How we move forward is not yet clear but we do need to move forward before our
Trader Representatives become more revolting.