Healthy business - sustainable consumption

Provincial leaders and the Department of Industry and Trade visited Nghe An's booth at the Supply and Demand Connection Conference. Photo: Viet Phuong

PV:Could you please tell us about the work of protecting consumer rights in the area recently?

Comrade Vo Thi An:As soon as the Law on Consumer Protection and Decree No. 99/2011/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Consumer Protection came into effect, the Department of Industry and Trade coordinated with relevant departments, branches, People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to widely disseminate the contents of the Law to officials, civil servants, public employees, production and business enterprises and consumers in the province;

At the same time, issue official dispatches directing the Market Management Department and People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to effectively carry out market inspection and control to combat smuggling, counterfeit goods and trade fraud in the market and ensure the rights of consumers.

In order to carry out state management of consumer protection, every year, the Department of Industry and Trade issues official dispatches to implement the Month of Action for Food Safety; advises the Provincial People's Committee to issue documents to strengthen the management of multi-level sales activities.

In addition, the propaganda work on consumer rights protection on the media aims to raise consumer awareness in consuming and choosing products. Through that, the work of protecting consumer rights in the province has been rectified and effectively implemented, creating a driving force to promote consumer rights protection activities to develop and enter people's lives.

PV:Can you tell us more about the implementation of consumer protection law enforcement in the area?

Comrade Vo Thi An:From 2011 to 2014, although March 15 was not recognized as Consumer Rights Day, every year the Department of Industry and Trade still held events in response to Consumer Rights Day, organized widespread propaganda and hung banners on a number of roads, markets, shopping centers and public places throughout the province.

Since the Vietnam Consumer Rights Day was issued, in addition to organizing rallies and hanging banners and flags, Nghe An has organized seminars to disseminate laws on consumer rights, so that a large number of consumers in the province are aware of their 8 rights.

Consumers have become aware of their right to safety and have prioritized choosing goods with clear origin and origin, goods that ensure food hygiene and safety. Businesses have recognized the important role of consumers and have clear policies in resolving and protecting consumer rights.

Up to now, we have supported and guided consumers to follow the correct order of regulations on complaint settlement and have resolved 32 cases to help consumers protect their rights.

Regarding inspection work in the field of consumer rights protection, from 2011-2016, the Department of Industry and Trade Inspectorate conducted 185 specialized inspections in the fields of: Electricity business, clean water supply, apartment building business, medical practice, chemical safety according to regulations.

Through that, it has propagated to organizations, production and business units and people to understand the legal regulations on consumer rights protection and other related laws.

In addition, functional forces in the province have also inspected and handled many violations in production and business.

Nghe An parade to promote Vietnam Consumer Rights Day

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of March 15, the Department of Industry and Trade organized a parade to promote Vietnam Consumer Rights Day 2018.

Check out 4 consumer complaints that won the lawsuit

(Baonghean.vn) - Many cases of consumer rights violations have occurred recently, causing public outrage. From counterfeit goods, fake goods, poor quality goods to unfair competition, all violate consumer rights.

Comrade Vo Thi An:In recent years, violations of product quality and intellectual property rights affecting consumer rights have tended to increase. Counterfeiters are increasingly sophisticated in their forms and methods. Violations of commercial fraud have tended to decrease in 2014-2016, because the propaganda work on commercial law has been well implemented by competent authorities, and production and business establishments are aware of their obligations and responsibilities.

However, violations of food safety and hygiene tend to increase sharply in both the number of violations and the value of violated goods. Because traders and business households are not aware of their responsibilities, they still put on the market goods using banned substances in the production and trading of food, imported food, of unknown origin, and not guaranteed to be safe.

It is forecasted that in the coming time, violations of intellectual property, product quality, and food safety will continue to increase. For immediate profits, traders are willing to put fake, counterfeit, and poor quality goods that do not ensure food safety and hygiene into the market.

The authorities need to strengthen the propaganda and dissemination of laws to production and business households. And there needs to be a drastic intervention of the authorities to prevent and limit these phenomena, in order to create an equal business environment for legitimate businesses and stabilize the market, protect the rights of consumers and promote production and business development.

PV:DTo strengthen the enforcement of consumer protection laws in the coming time, what solutions are needed, sir?

Comrade Vo Thi An:In recent years, although consumer rights protection activities have seen positive changes, there are still limitations. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to strengthen the dissemination and popularization of laws on consumer rights protection, especially market inspection and supervision to limit violations in production, business and service provision that affect the health, material and spiritual life of consumers.

In particular, to do a good job of protecting consumers, the Provincial People's Committee needs to direct the Association for Standards and Consumer Protection to organize a congress and restructure the Association. Through that, it will publicize the violating units as well as commend the production and business enterprises that do a good job of protecting consumer rights.

Responding to Vietnam Consumer Rights Day 2018, with the theme "healthy business, sustainable consumption", the Department of Industry and Trade organized the hanging of banners, slogans; marches, parades to promote Vietnam Consumer Rights Day;

Organize the 2018 Consumer Rights Conference with the theme "Healthy business, sustainable consumption", with the participation of officials from relevant departments, branches, and sectors, People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns; Nghe An Association for Standards and Consumer Rights Protection; Enterprises, production and business in the area, Provincial Women's Union, students from colleges and universities, and a large number of consumers in Nghe An province.