I first wrote for The Age in 2019. I was paid about 50c per word – half the rate that the paper was paying freelancers back in the early 2000s.
Five years later – after tireless organising from freelancers and inspiring solidarity from staff – Nine claims that it now pays 72c per word as a minimum. Yet myself and all the other Good Food writers were still getting 50c per word, proving that a company’s stated minimum rates don’t mean anything unless we have a collective agreement that we can hold them to. And in any case, 72c is still well below a liveable wage.
In August last year, Nine management said they’d sit down with us after a joint strike of staff and freelancers pushed them to negotiate. Now after three frustrating meetings in which they have continually refused to negotiate anything at all, we’re coming to the public again to ask for your support.
I’m not writing for Nine anymore – I can’t afford to. But I read their coverage every day, I notice how some of the outlets’ best work is produced by freelancers, and I also see the perspectives that are missing because working-class writers can’t afford to live like this.
If you ever read The Age, SMH, AFR, Good Food, Traveller, Good Weekend, Domain, or listen to their podcasts or access anything else from Nine Publishing, please sign and share this petition to support minimum pay rates, annual increases, and a collective agreement for Nine’s freelancers.
Jinghua Qian 