There were times when a considerable number of our people believed the lies we were told about the consumer society. Now many of us have the opportunity to make a closer acquaintance with life in the countries where such a society (synonymous with civilized society) long ago became an everyday reality, which has put an end to all our fears in this field. However, in our decade of independence a consumer society has not yet formed in Ukraine, although every citizen, of course, is a consumer. And that is almost the only thing that can unite us today.
We are all interested in consuming clean water and air, food that is fresh and safe for our health, goods meeting quality standards, and services supplying what is promised. Alas, all this more often than not remains only a fond hope. The consumer has not yet become a reference point for developing the economy either on the macro or micro level, despite many state and public organizations trying to protect his rights, from the State Tax Administration and State Committee for Standardization, Metrology, and Certification to the newly formed Ukrainian Institute of the Consumer Association. It was no coincidence that in February 2001 President Leonid Kuchma signed an order On Measures to Improve the Quality of Domestic Products and the parliament has recently listened to the government’s report on its activities in consumer rights protection. However, in the course of administrative reform the Committee to Protect Consumer Rights was eliminated, while in Germany, which in many ways has become a model for our country, there is a special ministry for this purpose.
Yet, to bring consumer rights up to the level needed, not only steps by the authorities but also a proper conscious position of the consumers themselves are required. First, in terms of political economy, it should be understood that only the free competition of producers and through it their constant battle for the customer can turn consumer rights into a voluntarily and hence strictly enforced law. Second, the dictates of such a law and legal rights of the customer will become possible only when he himself overcomes his long habit of taking anything without complaint and tolerating the neglect of his rights without murmur.
Meanwhile, precisely now an unprecedented court hearing is being held at the Kyiv Radiansky district court. Thirteen passengers who went by a Ukrainian Mediterranean Airlines plane from Lubljana to Kyiv sued the owner accusing him of delaying flight departure for lack of seats on the plane, which appeared to be much less than the tickets sold; and causing, as the suit puts it, “much physical and moral suffering to the passengers,” many of whom arrived in Kyiv 24 hours later than the tickets indicated. One of the passengers, prominent Ukrainian lawyer Ihor Kyrylenko, told The Day that after completing his air Odyssey he had hesitated to carry out his intention to turn to court protection: if we have arrived safely, why should we waste our money and nerves?
Head of the Chief Administration to Protect Consumer Rights in Kyiv Mykola Kazakov stated that the problem of the quality and safety of food products in Ukraine has reached a scale threatening national security. In Kyiv alone in the year 2000 markets rejected as defective 208 tons of meat, 178 tons of dairy products, 254 tons of fish, 1.5 tons of vegetables, and 248,000 liters of alcoholic beverages; more than 12,000 cases of sailing echinococcus infected pork, and 9,500 cases of the sale of infected meat, including 150 cases of tuberculosis infection. And there is no guarantee that the rejected products will not appear on consumers’ tables since Ukraine has no mechanism for their seizure or use. In addition, according to Mr. Kozakov, 10,000 head of cattle arrived in Ukraine before the prohibition on importing beef from the countries where the mad cow disease has become epidemic. The meat of such animals and their progeny is especially dangerous to public health in Ukraine, since the country lacks the necessary equipment and methods for detecting this infection in food products. Mr. Kazakov also said that the Ukrainian food production uses chemicals in an uncontrolled manner, chemicals that can injure the human organism, often even without mentioning it on the contents label.
