The Consumer Council today (May 30) unveiled details of a 3-year strategic plan inaugurating a new realm of consumer protection and empowerment.
The development blueprint embodies, in total, a set of 7 goals and a combination of key strategies and new initiatives covering a wide spectrum of the Council's manifold services as well as priority areas of concern the Council is facing in the years ahead.
The triennial plan was announced by the Chairman of Consumer Council, Professor WONG Yuk Shan, BBS, JP, in a press briefing to present the strategic proposal which has the unanimous support and endorsement of the Full Council.
Said the Chairman: "We believe the plan comes at a crucial juncture of time. We are witnessing a highly volatile consumer environment with changing demographics and consumption behaviour, uncertain economic and financial outlook that increases consumers' anxiety, ever rising consumer expectations and the influence of the new media.
"Against this background and rationale, we have formulated a plan that will give us the direction and new focus we need to meet the challenge in the way forward," he stressed.
Professor WONG noted that over the years, the Council has won wide recognition and trust of both the public and the business alike. He said, "It is crucial that we must not only maintain this momentum but also propel it forward to enhance our advocacy effectiveness. We must pull our resources together as envisaged in the plan, and strive to be the leading authoritative voice for the benefit of the consumers."
To achieve this objective, the plan calls for the creative use of the new technology to closely connect with the community online and, equally important, proactive stakeholder engagement to canvass co-operation and support. Further, the Council monthly publication CHOICE will be re-positioned and undergoing a facelift.
Sustainable consumption will be one issue to take centre stage in the Council's efforts to promote greater awareness of global concern over the environment - and the call for safer, greener and socially responsible products.
It will be brought under scrutiny, among other measures, in the Council's testing and research studies with special focus on the sustainability perspective. Consumer education empowerment activities will be strengthened to bring home the importance of sustainable consumption and related issues.
Another top priority is to progressively build up its capacity and ability in tracking consumption patterns and emerging issues in order to stay ahead of changing consumer behaviours and expectations as well as the macro consumer environment.
The Council will upgrade the technology, with more powerful data collection and analytical tools, on its complaint case management system to harness the information and data for effective management of errant traders and timely consumer advice or alerts. Consumer behaviour tracking surveys on such services as beauty centres and online shopping will also be launched.
The enhancement of consumer redress mechanism and fairness in the market is always a priority goal. In the next 3 years, special emphasis will be focused on some of the long-standing issues and practices in some trades and industries that are of continual public concern.
It is envisaged that the Council will be actively engaged in the research and advocacy for the formation of "Consumer Class Action" and the development of regulation on such issues as pre-payment, corporate solvency, online shopping, cooling-off period, and a suitable arbitration model.
Furthermore, the Council will continue to keep a close watch on issues of public concerns, such as electricity market reform, regulation of private hospitals and healthcare protection schemes, licensing regime of property management, MPF employee choice arrangement, regulatory framework for retail payment system, independent insurance authority and policyholder compensation fund.
In addition, in collaboration with the Government, the Council will play an active role in the educational publicity campaigns on the 3 new legislations, namely, the Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade Practices) (Amendment) Ordinance, the Competition Ordinance, and the Residential Properties (First-hand Sales) Ordinance. The Council has also a monitoring role to ensure new consumer protection legislation is enforced in spirit and letter.
The year 2014 will mark the 40th Anniversary of the Consumer Council. This provides an ideal opportunity to roll out a series of community engagement activities and educational programmes to foster a close connection between the Council and the consumers. The occasion will also be used to forge closer ties and reinvigorate partnership with international and Mainland consumer bodies on knowledge exchange, education and complaint resolution of mutual interest.
The Council Chief Executive, Ms. Gilly WONG, is excited and looks forward to meeting the challenges, with support from the government, major stakeholders and the public, of the new direction and goals for the Council.
"We are deeply honoured by the public trust of the Council as an authoritative voice to protect their consumer rights. In the years ahead, we will continue to devote ourselves to listen and act on the needs of consumers today and tomorrow, and bring positive changes to the evolving marketplace for a sustainable consumption environment to our city." she added.
- 2013.05.30