The Regional Government of the Azores intends to create arbitration and mediation institutions to deal with conflicts between consumers and companies in the Region, said the Regional Director for Employment, Vocational Training and Consumer Rights.
Rui Bettencourt spoke at a round-table discussion at the Secondary School of Atalhada, in Lagoa, organised in the context of the celebrations of the World Consumer Rights Day.
According to Rui Bettencourt, the approach adopted by the Regional Government aims to respond to consumer conflicts in the Azores, given that some of the cases that have been detected “do not reach the courts, because it is much more expensive for a consumer that spends 400 Euros in a computer to spend 3000 Euros to take the company that sold him the computer to court.”
He said that with a view towards implementing processes of arbitration and mediation, several juridical proposals are being studied that apply to consumer rights, at the national and European levels, and that may even address monitoring.
According to the Regional Director, a solution of this king does not preclude the creation of a Arbitration College in the Azores, an initiative that is being considered and that should address a concern that has been made public.
Referring to the mediation service, Rui Bettencourt mentioned the case of labour mediation practices in the Region that, unlike the rest of the country, have “resolved two thirds of labour conflicts, without resorting to the courts.”
The Regional Secretary extolled the commitment of the Regional Government of the Azores to the defence of consumer rights and said that this concern is corroborated by the fact that it was this government that established the Regional Directorate for Employment, Vocational Training and Consumer Rights.