QVM traders go on strike again

Traders at the Queen Victoria Market (QVM) continued their dispute with market management on March 25 by striking for a second time in a month.

Several general merchandise traders joined fruit and vegetable traders in shuttering their stalls and driving their forklifts to Melbourne Town Hall.

Traders were motivated to strike earlier this month after the market’s management company QVM Pty Ltd imposed additional fees for electricity and waste services.

“The market management and board have not made clear efforts to reduce its own expenses, despite high spending on salaries, consultancies, and contractors. This is not just about fees, it’s about fairness,” fruit and vegetable trader Frankie Fontana said.

Queen Victoria Market CEO Matt Elliott expressed disappointment that traders chose to strike again.

“We organised a meeting to discuss the way forward with all fruit and vegetable traders on Thursday last week, however not a single trader attended,” Mr Elliott said.

“We remain committed to working with traders to identify and implement opportunities to reduce the cost of waste disposal and develop a charging model from July 1, which ensures all traders contribute to the cost of the services they use in the operation of their business at the market.”

Fruit and vegetable trader Rosa Ansaldo said she was being charged more for electricity by market management than she is at home, despite only running three scales and an EFTPOS machine.

“If it continues like this it will definitely be the demise of a lot of us,” Ms Ansaldo said.

Mr Elliott said that until individual electricity meters were operational later this year, traders were being charged a minimal flat fee per trading day, estimated to be 80 per cent less than what actual usage would be for traders with a cool room once meters were up and running.

“For waste collection and disposal, fruit and vegetable traders are being charged an amount based on how many stalls they operate,” Mr Elliott added.

“As traders have expressed concerns with this approach, we have offered to work with them to finalise a methodology based on audits of how much waste each trader generates.”

“While this work is ongoing, we have reduced waste charges to the same amount paid by Dairy Hall/Meat and Fish Hall traders for the period January 1 to June 30, 2025.”