The GRTU does not understand why the government is planning to set up a Consumer Protection Agency, GRTU President Paul Abela said today.
"We cannot see what need there is, in 2010, to set up an agency such as this. We cannot understand how the government had found money to waste on something which, for us, hardly makes any sense in the current Maltese economic and commercial context," Mr Abela told Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said during a meeting.
He said there were other areas where the governemnt could spend its money to benefit consumers.
Mr Abela complained that the governemnt had never discussed its plans for the agency with the GRTU and said the chamber was seeking a serious discussion about it.
He said that Maltese businesses operated under fair competition rules and public regulators had a duty to ensure that no one abused of a monopoly or market dominant position.
There was much to be done to improve the system. Indeed, the GRTU was not happy with the way most of the regulators operated. It was pleased that the government had taken up its suggestion to set a college of regulators so that they could work on the basis of common principles.
Mr Abela said the concept of the College of Regulators needed to be developed as quickly as possible so that there was no overlapping between the regulators, and the free market could operate efficiently.
This, Mr Abela said, was the best protection that could be afforded to consumers and small businesses, rather than sending an army of people to copy the prices displayed in shops.
Once price controls had ended this regiment of people going around the shops to see the prices was no longer needed.
What was needed, however, was for the government, with involvement by the GRTU, to analyse and establish how imported products saw their price spike by the time they reached consumers. There were clearly problems in the distribution system.
Shop prices were not false, Mr Abela said, but reflected the many often senseless costs imposed until products reached the shops.
Now that the government was to set up a Consumer Protection Agency, would the government explain who it would protect?
Would it protect businesses from the costs imposed by the government which they then had to pass on to consumers? Would it afford protection from monopolies and dominant market players who imposed high prices and conditions on retailers on a take it or leave it basis?
Mr Abela said the GRTU was appealing to the governemnt for serious dialogue on the plans for the agency before taxpayers' money was spent on an exercise which did not make sense.
Mr Abela also criticised the Malta Resources Authority for having decided the utility tariffs on its own.
He said the GRTU had reiterated its position that small businesses should not pay that part of their utilities bill which covered the capping enjoyed by big firms on their bills.
CONSULTATION DOCUMENT
Pariamentary Secretary Chris Said said the government would issue a consultation document on the proposed agency. He said the purpose of the agency would not be to impose more regulation on businesses but for the government to consolidate its existing consumer protection mechanisms and ensure they were more efficient.
He said the government would welcome the GRTU's input to the consultation process.