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Speech delivered to a seminar organised
by Cittadinanza Attiva
Rome - 12 November 2000
Mr Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen,
I am the President of the Consumers’
Union of Malta in Maltese
Ghaqda
tal-Konsumaturi. My association
was set up in April 1982. It is the only organisation in
Malta. I believe that in order to put everything into
perspective, one must know something about Malta. First of
all Malta is a small island, about 4002 Km. It
is located just below Italy around 100km away. Since we
had been a British colony up till 1964, our administrative
system is very similar to that one finds there. Maltese
and English are the two official languages.
These facts immediately set certain
limitations and advantages. One limitation is that our
market is very small and thus competition is very tough
and difficult to maintain. On the other hand, one of our
advantages is that distances are small and thus with one
office at the capital we can still provide a service to
our community at a national level.
To understand the role we play in our
society, one must understand the original role and examine
the factors which moulded the present association.
Culture and the economic structure are fundamental.
In the seventies, the consumers were
not even aware of the concept of consumer and thus of
their rights. This was shown by the fact that the Maltese
word for consumer was "parruccan".
The connotations were derived from the word “parish” -
parrocca. The consumers within
the area surrounding the village grocer were considered as
the parishioners within the parish. The role adopted by
the grocery was that of the parish priest. It was obliged
to provide a good service but the parishioners had very
little choice but to do as the parish priest says. Thus
the concept of rights was not present.
This fitted well with one of the social
characteristics of the Maltese – powerlessness. Because we
had been a colony since time immemorial we had no power to
change things, and thus could only vent our frustration
through grumbling.
On the other hand, in Malta, as
elsewhere, the economic philosophy dominant at that time
dictated a strong government. The government was seen as
the prime motor for economic development. Among other
things, its role incorporated control of inflation or cost
of living. The explosion in prices, which followed the
rise in the price of crude oil in the early 1970's,
brought about two-digit inflation throughout the western
world. Malta was no exception.
Government intervention brought a
resultant kickback from the private sector that saw the
market as the perfect solution to all economic ills. Thus
a polarity developed. On the one hand, the consumers
believed that the government was duty bound to protect the
consumers, especially with regard to pricing. On the
other hand, the private sector believed that the consumer
had the upper hand whatever the market and thus there was
no need for either government intervention or the
existence of consumers' associations.
Such was the general environment. It
certainly did not encourage the consumers to take the
necessary action to defend their rights either
individually or collectively.
However, as I had already pointed out,
we set up shop in 1982 in the midst of this scenario. We
were lucky that our predecessor, another consumer
oganisation which only survived for two years, put up
enough pressure to change two important things. First, it
introduced the word consumer and second it convinced the
government of that day to enact the first legislation.
This legislation also introduced the concept of consumer
in our legislation but it also gave recognised consumer
organisations the right to publish information including
naming publicly commercial entities without being
prosecuted for libel. The only condition was that the
organisation must act in bona fide.
This meant that our organisation could
take up an active role. In fact our role can be
classified as follows:
Representing the Consumers
Client Services
Education and
Acting as a pressure group
Representing the Consumers
It acts as a representative for the
local consumers. We represent the local consumers on
several national Boards amongst them the Consumers’
Affairs Council which is a national board whose function
primarily is to advise the Minister responsible for
consumer affairs on policy and legislation. We also
represent consumers on other boards mainly Users’ Boards
of Public Utilities.
Representation is not something easy to
get. All bodies will agree that consumers are to be
represented. But there is a big gap between lip service
and action. Many would want to select the representative
themselves. We have always insisted that the choice of the
representative should be in the hands of the consumer
association.
However, representation is one thing
and effective representation is another. Effective
representation entails dedication and effort especially
from a voluntary organisation. Moreover, it requires the
courage to bite the hand that feeds you. In fact this is
the litmus test of effective representation.
Client Services
This service was introduced immediately
after the association was set up. Most of the
association's resources and efforts go towards achieving
this aim.
The association targets all the
consumers but special attention has been directed towards
those socially excluded. As more consumers are educated in
this life skill, the association will focus its complaint
handling resources towards two objectives:
Extending this service at the community
level and;
Specialising in dealing holistically
with the socially excluded.
This activity is directed towards
achieving three objectives:
Awareness
Educating the consumer in dispute settlement;
Help the consumer attain his rights, and;
Promoting amicable settlements between the consumer and
the trader.
Education
We believe that it is better to train
consumers have their rights than providing a help line
service which solves the consumers' complaints. That is
why we publish consumer complaints and the settlements
achieved. Through this method we achieve the settlement of
disputes, educate the consumers about their rights, and
promote the idea that consumers should be aware of the
possible pitfalls and seek advice.
The use of the mass media has been the
main vehicle to promote consumer education. The Consumers'
Union has been the first organisation to use the media
available to promote consumer education. We were the
first to use radio, television and newspapers. At first,
we had problems through the economic pressure that some of
the local businesses were applying. However, up to a
certain level we succeeded in overcoming this difficulty.
Through the mass media we have the
opportunity to forward information about consumers'
rights, information about what goes on in the local
markets. Apart from this we educate the consumers to use
the available means to seek redress. But the greatest
achievement is to place consumer issues and positions on
the national agenda
In this respect, the media plays an
important role. Members of the Consumers' Union council
take an active part to bring forward the consumers'
interest. The introduction of the Consumers Day, which at
first was commemorated in June and later in March, helped
greatly in bringing forward the consumers' agenda. Apart
from this, it helped to educate the Maltese consumers
about their rights.
We have a quarterly newsletter in
Maltese but we try to use the other media especially since
with the right contacts they can give you wide coverage.
Pressure Group
There is one function that no other
organisation except an NGO can do. This is acting as a
pressure group. Acting as a pressure group means promoting
the interests of the consumer at every level. It means
seeing that the consumers' special interest are taken into
consideration when legislation is being enacted or
repealed. But apart from this, being a pressure group
means assessing the impact on the consumer of what is
going on. Being proactive requires that an organisation be
represented where decisions are taken.
Special Problems
One of the main problems is our
culture. At present, we are at the crossroads of a
radical change. Our culture has adapted well to the old
economic structure where the state really controlled the
economy. Today we are facing a new environment – one where
the market rules.
Thus, we can identify certain trends
which are conflicting. We want choice but then we require
the government to act as our Big Brother. We do not like
to participate but we want our views to prevail. We expect
things and services for free but then we are in a
consumerist spree. We want new regulations but then we
have a basic disregard for all regulations.
What are the future challenges for the
local consumer organisation?
Our main challenges include making
consumers participate in matters and organizations that
should interest them. We need to instill a spirit of
self-dependence and risk taking. Otherwise we will not
survive in the market. As an organisation we need to
develop new policies which are adequate for a market
economy. Similar to being one of the first organisations
promoting consumer education, the present 'Ghaqda
tal-Konsumaturi' is trying to develop this topic as a life
skill and not leave it as a compartmentalised subject
within the curriculum. But most of all, our social
commitment must direct us to inquire about the new
socially excluded class and direct our efforts to give
these people the opportunity to participate in the markets
available.
Our main challenge is attracting the
younger generation in participating in our organisation
and assume leadership. Theirs is the future. They are the
target group on which the new products and services are
being developed. Unless they participate they will end up
being passive receivers and unable to influence their
future.
As an NGO, our greatest opportunity is
our belief that only through collective action we can
obtain new rights. Legislation is there to give us a
safety net especially when markets do not operate well.
Consumers must understand markets and learn to operate
within them. Otherwise, they will end up as losers.
However, the main objective remains
what it has been throughout time. That is, developing
positions and working continuously towards ensuring that
the consumers and their interests occupy a high position
the country's agenda.
Three words can
encapsulate Consumers' Associations' future role –
INSPIRE, EMPOWER AND ACT!
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