The Minister for European Funds, Social Dialogue and Consumer Protection, Keith Azzopardi Tanti, together with the Chairperson of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA), Carmen Ciantar, and the Chief Executive Officer of Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta (SEM), Rodrick Zerafa announced the renewal of the Trust You scheme. The scheme is being renewed through a new framework designed to give greater value to the Trust You mark, strengthen consumer confidence, and recognise those businesses that make a concrete commitment towards good and responsible practices.
The new framework broadens the scope of the scheme by bringing together three important areas of the MCCAA’s work: consumer protection, product safety and compliance, as well as legal metrology, namely the accuracy of measurements used in trade.
The renewed scheme goes beyond being simply a mark displayed at the entrance of a business. Trust You is being developed as a progressive three-tier system – Bronze – Commitment, Silver – Assurance and Gold – Certification – through which businesses will be able to demonstrate increasingly higher levels of commitment and compliance. The first phase will begin with the Bronze level, with businesses able to progress from one level to another according to the progress they make.
Minister Keith Azzopardi Tanti emphasised that a scheme such as this demonstrates how the Government is delivering on its commitments in practice. He also said that through this initiative, “we are giving consumers greater peace of mind, while at the same time recognising those businesses that maintain compliance, operate responsibly and place the customer at the centre of their work.”
MCCAA Chairperson Carmen Ciantar said that “as an Authority, we are sending a clear message that our role is not solely one of enforcement. Enforcement remains an essential part of our responsibilities, but a modern regulator must also educate, guide, encourage compliance and recognise good practice.”
SEM CEO Rodrick Zerafa stated, “The relaunch of the Trust You Scheme is an opportunity to continue encouraging more Maltese and Gozitan businesses to raise their standards and strengthen consumer confidence.” He also made reference to the Standards and Awards for SMEs scheme, whereby eligible enterprises can benefit from EU funding to cover part of the cost of external consultancy and professional advisory services required to achieve a recognised standard or award. “SEM provides free assistance to businesses to help them understand the opportunities available, assess their eligibility and guide them throughout the application and implementation process,” concluded Zerafa.
MCCAA will also be introducing a training framework for employees who have direct contact with consumers, together with monitoring measures to ensure that the scheme remains linked to a concrete and ongoing commitment. Transparency will be another important element of the renewed scheme. Participating businesses will be listed in a public register, while the Trust You sticker will include a QR code linked directly to this register. In this way, consumers will be able to verify the status of participating businesses easily and directly.
Participating businesses will, in turn, be awarded the mark corresponding to the level achieved, as well as a certificate, inclusion in the public register, and the possibility of using the Trust You mark in their communications and advertising. For businesses that are already members of Trust You, there will be a 12-month transition period to allow them sufficient time to align themselves with the requirements of the renewed scheme and complete the necessary training.
The renewal of Trust You also forms part of a series of electoral measures being implemented by the Government during its first 100 days, with the aim of strengthening consumer protection while providing greater support to businesses to operate in a compliant and responsible manner. Indeed, Trust You follows the launch of ImportaMT last week – a new service through which importers can verify the compliance of their products before they are imported into Malta. Two different initiatives, but with a common objective: greater certainty for businesses and greater peace of mind for consumers.
