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Ministry urges protections for consumers
The business community, consumers and Government agencies should work together to create a fair, competitive business climate that acknowledges consumer rights, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.
Addressing a workshop on consumer rights in HCM City on Mar. 15, Deputy Minister Le Danh Vinh said the Law on Consumer Protection passed by the National Assembly in November said the entire society should be aware of the importance of consumer rights.
"Consumers have their own power. The case of the lawsuit against the (Taiwanese MSG producer) Vedan is a clear example," he said, adding that consumers could have forced an earlier resolution if they had refused to buy the company's products.
Instead, lawsuits were filed and the company offered compensation to farmers affected by the pollution caused by the company's illegal discharge of untreated waste water in a river.
Currently, the ministry is drafting two decrees guiding the implementation of consumer protection laws and compliance policies as well as a governmental regulation on protecting product trademarks.
Vinh said consumers should read product labels and get invoices in case they wanted to file a complaint later. Businesses must ensure that they were offering good products to consumers, he added.
Bui Duy Duc, Chairman of the HCM City Association of Businesses, said that consumer protection also benefited businesses themselves because purchases resulted in profits.
Duc said businesses in the association were being encouraged to produce quality products.
According to its Deputy Director Le Thi Dao, the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade is making concerted efforts to prevent the sale of fake products in the city market, and is continuing its price-stabilisation programme on essential goods.
The workshop was organised by the ministry and the Multi-lateral Trade Assistance Project on the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day on March 15.
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