Evening Herald Sellers Being Exploted

squitely · 23-09-2011 03:28AM #1

My friend sold the Evening Herald on the street when he first came to Ireland on his 1 year student visa from Brazil.

I would have assumed that these sellers were receiving minimum wage, but apparently all they get is commission - 60 cent per paper sold.

My friend earned like 2 or 3 euro per hour the couple of days he did it.

He says that the majority of the people who sell them just try it for a week or so when they first arrive and are looking for other jobs.

Also in Brazil 2 or 3 euros per hour would not be so terrible, so he didn't really feel that bad about it, even when he did later find out about the minimum wage.

I however think that it is wrong to treat people like this, especially when they are guests in our country. He says that he knows other people who were given bad spots and ended up making even less money than he did. The good spots where it is possible to make decent money are taken by more long term sellers. Even these good spots might only make 4 or 5 euros per hour all the same.

To add insult to injury he says that the supervisors were pig ignorant.

I would love to know what you think.

Hank_Jones · 23-09-2011 03:38AM

If only to be the exploiter and not the exploited.

Wouldn't life be grand.

banquo · 23-09-2011 06:53AM

I read the title as being 'exploded'.

Kaboom!

biko · 23-09-2011 07:37AM

I suppose for that type job commission is the best way to pay, unless you want the sellers just standing around not making an effort (council worker style).

When was this? Last month, last year, 4 years ago?
Student visa eh?
If you sell 30-40 papers during morning rush, that's a bit of money.
How much does the paper even cost to buy on the street?

Crazy Horse 6 · 23-09-2011 07:42AM

They should feel lucky to have a job.

CardBordWindow · 23-09-2011 08:34AM

I just buy the paper in a shop.

Joey the lips · 23-09-2011 08:57AM

Commission is quite popular. Its a win win if your clever.

Your friend needs to do some leg work and find a spot where more papers sell. If it were me i would be moving around all the time looking for better spots.

If you are given a spot then really its your choice. You are only being exploited if your forced. Bear in mind papers are not selling as much and the Herald is a rag.

bijapos · 23-09-2011 09:02AM

squitely wrote: »

To add insult to injury he says that the supervisors were pig ignorant.

A pig ignorant supervisor!! :eek: Well I never heard the like, how unusual for a supervisor to be ignorant.

cosmicfart · 23-09-2011 09:04AM

they wud be better off whoring themselves tbh

MrStuffins · 23-09-2011 09:05AM

Holy jaysus, this is terrible! Just terrible! What do they think they are doing? I can't believe that these people are getting 60c for each paper for all their hours working. These employers need a wake up call!

I mean.......... if they were clever they'd have hired people to work for free through the Jobbridge Internship Scheme!

squod · 23-09-2011 01:54PM

Moral of the story is stop buying ''de hedild'' off these people.

mikemac · 23-09-2011 01:58PM

squitely wrote: »

To add insult to injury he says that the supervisors were pig ignorant.

Much the same as every business in Ireland so
Well at least the several I've worked in

c_man · 23-09-2011 01:59PM

squitely wrote: »

all they get is commission - 60 cent per paper sold.

My friend earned like 2 or 3 euro per hour the couple of days he did it.

Selling around three papers an hour? Hardly deserving of world class pay in fairness...

blackwhite · 23-09-2011 03:05PM

squitely wrote: »

To add insult to injury he says that the supervisors were pig ignorant.

mikemac wrote: »

Much the same as every business in Ireland so
Well at least the several I've worked in

Anytime I see people complain about their supervisors I think of the attached....

squitely · 23-09-2011 03:11PM

You don't get to choose your spot. You can't move around.

Nobody sells 30 or 40 papers in the rush, The rush might be 10 papers, the rest of the time you sell maybe 3 per hour.

The Evening Herald don't just use the sellers to sell papers, they also function as walking billboards.

It doesn't matter if you are choosing to work there because there is nothing else available. It's still not right or fair for anyone to work for that amount.

I'm surprised at the cavalier response here to people earning 2 euro per hour.

Cee-Jay-Cee · 23-09-2011 03:23PM

If he was here on a student visa then he's not entitled to work...no?

CoolHat · 23-09-2011 03:28PM

Truth be known alot of people who do this are also on the social welfare. So while it may be seen as "low paying" its still tax free and on the side.

Techno_Toaster · 23-09-2011 03:32PM

If they come here and get a job they aren't guests in the country

Pride Fighter · 23-09-2011 03:34PM

CJC999 wrote: »

If he was here on a student visa then he's not entitled to work...no?

They're allowed work 20 hours a week on a student visa I believe.

mattjack · 23-09-2011 03:45PM

What's with these people selling the Evening Herald at 11.30 in the morning.? does that not make it the Morning Herald..?..and then theres folk who try and give me Metro every morning too....wtf am I gonna do with a train ? and I always thought a Brazilian was a job done on a ladygarden

CoolHat · 23-09-2011 03:49PM

mattjack wrote: »

What's with these people selling the Evening Herald at 11.30 in the morning.? does that not make it the Morning Herald..?..and then theres folk who try and give me Metro every morning too....wtf am I gonna do with a train ? and I always thought a Brazilian was a job done on a ladygarden

I know what you mean :pac:
there are two versions of the evening herald. Morning and final. But calling the morning version evening is a little silly :P

DjFlin · 23-09-2011 03:49PM

If hes making 60c per paper, and 3 quid an hour, hes doing a pretty crappy job.

mattjack · 23-09-2011 03:52PM

CoolHat wrote: »

I know what you mean :pac:
there are two versions of the evening herald. Morning and final. But calling the morning version evening is a little silly :P

Though in saying that...the Herald fits perfectly into bottom of my Cockatiels cage...

Dangerous Man · 23-09-2011 03:54PM

Crazy Horse 6 wrote: »

They should feel lucky to have a job.

Retarded thing to say.

filthymcnasty · 23-09-2011 03:58PM

I see them at traffic lights intersections all over Dublin and they seem to sell fcuk all, looks like a poxy job tbh.
I did buy it on Monday though to get the Dublin poster

mikemac · 24-09-2011 10:19AM

I think the council was looking to get this stopped as it's distracting drivers at junctions and also, the council get no rates from this

If the papers were in shops then the turnover goes up and the council gets their cut

We may see a day when these lads are off the street

mattjack · 24-09-2011 10:21AM

except the good looking Brazilian ladies..

Cianos · 24-09-2011 11:15AM

The reason newspaper sellers can sell in the street is because of a loophole in public trading laws that says you don't need a casual trading licence to distribute printed material - pretty sure this stems from the protecting of free speech etc.

So the Herald are kinda taking the piss to begin with - having their sellers only earn a few euro/hour on average is taking the piss even further. I'd believe the approximations in the OP, the amount of times I've been sat at junctions where they're selling and I have very rarely seen them make a sale.

dsmythy · 24-09-2011 11:18AM

Here's an out there idea. Don't sell papers for the Herald, exploitation solved. The issue of explotation remains unsolved

La Flama Blanca · 24-09-2011 11:37AM

I drive home through the Malahide Road / N32 (Hilton) junction every day and see them selling 2-3 papers for every time the lights are stopped. It's a busy junction though and has 3 lanes of traffic... Prob doesn't represent your typical pitch.

RussellTuring · 24-09-2011 12:35PM

Quite surprised by the number of "lucky to have a job" and other such responses here. No matter how gifted they may be at selling such high quality journals as the Herald, there's only a certain amount of control they can have over whether or not someone actually wants the paper. As has been mentioned, the Herald and print media in general are getting decreasingly popular all the time so these people who actually get up off of their backsides to work and try make a better life for themselves are being punished for circumstances beyond their control. I wonder if the editor is paid by the number of copies sold. I doubt it.

Evening Herald Sellers Being Exploted

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