Kiosk press boycott averted

NEWSPAPER distributors and kiosks yesterday reached an agreement to enter a dialogue on Monday in a spat over the calculation of commission that threatened to disrupt availability today.

A statement from the shopkeepers union POVEK, which is representing around 100 kiosk owners who threatened not to provide papers today, said the measures had been suspended.
The kiosks in question are opposed to a change in the way of calculating the commission they receive from news agencies, which they brand unfair.

Hellenic Distribution, one of the two agencies affected, said that last year a number of kiosks had protested to the Competition Commission that certain of their colleagues were getting more favourable rates from agencies. The second agency is Kronos.

Previously, the commission was “calculated” based on the age of a business: the older a kiosk, the better deal. Old kiosks are those that have been in business for 15 to 20 years.
The newer kiosks complained of distorted competition in the market.

The Competition Commission then ordered newsagents to work out a new formula.

The new system determines a commission based on a kiosk’s turnover. This was considered a fairer method of sharing the wealth, and all parties involved agreed to it apart from a small minority of protesting kiosks.
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