FTW has taken decisive action in the face of the protracted postal workers’ strike to ensure that every issue of the publication is in the hands of its readers as soon after printing as possible. The circulation department of FTW has worked around the clock to break our dependence on the Post Office for deliveries. As the postal service limps back into action, FTW will be using a combination of new delivery methods – including local and international couriers – to ensure timeous delivery. Earlier this week we cleared almost all the backlog of copies that were retrieved from the Post Office. This week, 2 500 of our readers will see the latest edition of FTW sooner than ever before – even when the Post Office was functioning in its prime. Most of the remaining 1 500 readers will also see the issue earlier than usual. The Postal Services Act gives the Post Office a monopoly on the delivery of post. Militant workers have tried to stop Post Office customers from using private delivery methods – but as a newspaper FTW is exempted from the Post Office monopoly. This also applies to any inserts or brochures that suppliers want to distribute to the trade, piggybacking on FTW’s new delivery system. FTW’s parent company, Now Media, has led the way in exploring a class action suit by users against the Post Office. Meanwhile, Now Media is driving a formal complaint to the Icasa, the regulator for the South African communications sector, with a view to having the Post Office’s licence to operate rescinded. FTW has had a team of people converting postal addresses to street addresses. Although the bulk of the work has been done, there are still some areas where we need to get the physical address of those in remote areas not served by the courier services we use. These readers may have to wait for postal services to resume. If you have any problems receiving your FTW please contact ftwsubs@nowmedia.co.za CAPTION FTW’s circulation department hard at work … Lorraine de Fonseca, Ferhana Sayed, Avrille Kuper and Gladys Nhlapo.
