‘Unions should be more active’

Labour MP Owen Bonnici has urged workers’ union to be more active in protecting consumers’ rights in Malta.

He told Parliament, unions had the possibility to provide services to protect consumers and they should voluntarily step in to bridge the gap, once there was no alternative at the moment. He added this was the unions’ obligation.

Consumer rights’ cases were at present ending up in court and it was better for consumers being represented by the unions before the Consumers’ Tribunal or the Small Claims Tribunal.

Dr Bonnici appealed for a simplified procedure. One could not use the same measures used in court for such small cases. Referring to the Small Claims Tribunal, one could see a more just and dignified procedure than that in the Consumers’ Tribunal, that left much to be desired. He said all tribunals tackling consumer issues had failed in their function. They should be more sensitive.

The Consumers Tribunal’s importance was to be accentuated as much as the Small Claims Court. This was a cardinal step in order to facilitate proceedings to the benefit of the consumer.

Dr Bonnici told the House that there were 584 claims last year. The real number should be three times as much, considering the fact that many would not claim.

Of the claims put forward last year, 359 were decided, 92 of which were against the consumer. He called for a more serious and effective tribunal as only this could serve persons better and provide the opportunity for persons to make complaints.

Dr Bonnici said the increase in competition was resulting to the detriment and expense of the complainants.

Using the liberalisation of gas as an example, he said one needed to be careful with the hike in the prices of essential services. Ideally, one would remove subsidies and increase competition. Privatisation led to the eradication of the subsidy.

Malta’s ageing population was facing hard times as the average pensioner was earning €700.

Moving on to television content providers, Dr Bonnici said that competition was of detriment to the consumer. This did not make sense and was facing a problem in the purchase of rights as it was a monopolistic concept. The solution lay in shared rights and inter-operability. Competition should not be based on exclusivity of rights but on other real competitive factors. The private sector was making a profit.

Malta needed a watchdog to step in and protect consumers.

Dr Bonnici praised the decision taken by the House Social Committee chairman Edwin Vassallo to write to the Copyright Board to solve the ongoing exclusive rights issue experienced by Go and Melita.

He asked by what stretch of the imagination was the private sector being allowed all these rights. Why were people resorting to purchasing basic necessities such as medicines from abroad? How does an increase in the cost of gas and fuel allow for a better quality of life? There was a flaw in this structure, he said, and appealed for a stark and able authority to challenge things in favour of the protection of the consumer.

As was similarly done within UEFA in the past, one needed to democratise broadcasting earnings. The principle attracted consensus from the House, but one now needed to challenge the details pertaining to this, which were open to criticism.

Concluding, Dr Bonnici called on the government to prioritise consumer protection as it was of vital importance, and to reconsider imposed government-induced costs, especially in the sphere of essential services.