This Week in the Market – 22 February 2022
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| In this week’s Market News: – Vaccination Hub reopening today – New penalties for face mask non-compliance – New Safety Initiative – Roadway dividers installation Market News Vaccination Hub reopening today!  As mentioned last week, the MMA is glad to bring back our third vaccination hub with the help of Corporate Health Management (CHM). CHM is fully funded by the Commonwealth Government to administer COVID-19 Vaccinations in workplaces and worksites like the Melbourne Market. They will be administering vaccinations from Tuesday 22nd February to Friday 11th March, helping protect our market community and the fresh produce supply chain. A reminder, food distribution workers eligible to receive an additional COVID-19 vaccine by 12 January 2022, will be required to receive a COVID-19 third dose vaccine by 12 March 2022 following a four-week extension. Food distribution workers who were not eligible to receive an additional COVID-19 vaccine by 12 January 2022 will be required to receive their COVID-19 third dose vaccine by 29 March 2022. Vaccination hub details When: Tuesday 22nd February to Friday 11th March, 5am – 12pm, each weekday. Where: Level 1 Buyers’ Walk, above tenancy 77 Vaccine available: The Pfizer vaccine will be available for third doses, as well as for any person yet to receive their first or second dose. How to book: Click this link to make a booking. New penalties for face mask non-compliance From Monday 21 February, any person on Market Land found not wearing a fitted face mask over the nose and mouth while indoors will be subject to an immediate 24-hour suspension (unless an exemption applies). With face mask rules well established and in place for some time, MRO’s will no longer issue written warnings before a suspension is issued. This rule will apply in all indoor settings and to everyone; store holders, buyers, growers, transport operators, flower market users, administration staff, cafe operators, contractors, MROs, cleaners and MMA employees alike. Existing face mask rules and subsequent penalties exclude those with a valid mask exemption or while eating, drinking, smoking or taking medication. We thank the market community for continuing to do the right thing and for your cooperation in relation to mask-wearing. New Safety Initiative – Roadway dividers installation After receiving feedback from Market users that some forklift drivers have been cutting through parking bays, the MMA has begun installing lane dividers to mitigate the risk of this unsafe behaviour.   The lane dividers have been installed to ensure forklifts stick to the designated roadways rather than cutting across parking bays. This safety initiative has commenced in two locations, with further installation at additional locations to come. Whether lane dividers are in place at a particular location or not, all market users must stick to the designated roadways throughout the market. Notice of Disruptive Works – Planned Power Outage As part of the transition to our new electricity provider WINconnect, there will be a planned outage to replace the existing electricity meters with new smart meters. The outage will take place over four business days from Wednesday, 2 March to Monday, 7 March between 10am – 5pm. Each metered tenancy will be without power for approximately 30 minutes during the meter change over and there will be electrical, fire and refrigeration contractors on standby to ensure everything comes back online. Business Principals received an email yesterday with further details of the disruption. If you have any questions regarding the proposed change over time for your business, please contact Shahed Syed on 0456 953 287 or syed@melbournemarket.com.au, he will be happy to work with you to arrange a more appropriate changeover time. If you have any additional questions, please contact the WINconnect Customer Service Team: 1300 791 970 Mon – Fri, 8am to 5:30pm enquiries@winconnect.com.au Interpreter services: 13 14 50 Annual Access Card Renewal Reminder A reminder that all Melbourne Market access cards have a common expiry date of 30 April each year. To avoid unnecessary charges, businesses should log onto their My MMA Portal and select any access cards they would like to de-activate from their business account. This week is the last opportunity to make these changes before invoices are generated. The below video outlines how to easily de-activate access cards using the My MMA Portal. If you haven’t set up your business’s My MMA Portal account, contact Amanda Flannery at aflannery@melbournemarket.com.au or 0428 910 182 to nominate a business representative and confirm business details.  THINK SAFETY STAY OFF YOUR PHONE WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE Distractions are dangerous. Use of a mobile or similar handheld device while operating a forklift or other Market-specific vehicle is prohibited at the Melbourne Market and will result in one demerit point.  New Member Alert – Eden Garden Fresh Market  Welcome David Hanno and the team at Eden Garden Fresh Market, who have recently come on board as A better choice! members. David has experience managing larger supermarkets and has brought his passion for fresh produce to the Mernda store. At Eden Garden Fresh Market you’ll not only find fresh produce purchased from the Melbourne Market, but a wide range of gourmet food, pantry and frozen items. David puts an emphasis on great service and wants everyone to have a smile on their face while in-store. The Happy Apple – Newport  The Happy Apple are no strangers to A better choice! and now their new store in Newport has also joined the program. The Happy Apple is a modern-day food store specialising in beautiful fresh produce as well as a variety of local and gourmet food items – think freshly-squeezed juice, coffee and liquor. The A better choice! team were in Newport last Friday to see the store and loved seeing how much the Newport locals were enjoying their new one-stop food shop! If you would like to become an A better choice! member, please contact Zac Egan. Free tickets to the 2022 Food Services Exhibition The 2022 Food Services Exhibition will be taking place this coming weekend at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and A better choice! have 100 tickets to giveaway! If this is of interest to you, please contact Zac Egan to secure tickets. Deep clean of the Buyers’ Walk A Deep Clean of the Buyer’s Walk is currently underway. Cleaning commenced at the northern end (Store 1) on Monday and will progressively make its way towards the southern end of the Buyers’ Walk over the next seven days. Impacted Business Principals were emailed a schedule of works last week. If you have any further queries about the deep clean, please contact the Help Desk on 0437 006 459. Thank you for your tolerance during this period to provide a cleaner Market for everyone. Industry News New market access for peaches and nectarines to Vietnam Over past five years the department and Summerfruit Australia Ltd have been in negotiation with Vietnam to establish market access for peaches and nectarines.Negotiation continued before a “virtual visit” was conducted in January 2022 between the department and Vietnam and protocol was agreed upon to allow market access for peaches and nectarines.Click here to find out more. The new innovative GPS-based picking app developed specifically for orchard workers  An Australian fresh produce labour management tool is expanding to the tree crop industry, with the development of an innovative automated GPS-based picking app in conjunction with a Riverland citrus grower. AgPick Orchard – a new version of the existing established AgPick smart harvest tool – aims to boost productivity, assure traceability and help tree crop growers meet imminent Horticultural Award piece-rate requirements. Click here to find out more. Indonesia will be an important market for Australian exporters in coming decades An Australian government report from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has found that there will be increasing opportunities for fruit and vegetable exporters to grow trade with one of the country’s closest neighbours, Indonesia in the next few decades. Click here to find out more. Melbourne Market Job Board  Do you have a vacancy to fill in your business? Email submissions@melbournemarket.com.au for the position to be placed on our online job board. Looking for a new role? Check out the online job board via the button below. View full online job board G&M Cammarano and Sons Seeking an experienced forklift driver four nights a week. Must have knowledge of the Market and current regulations. For further information or to apply, please visit Tony on stand 715/716. Ask the MMA If you’ve got a question for the MMA email it to: submissions@melbournemarket.com.au. Follow us  |
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