Madam, - I was shocked at the astonishing attack on the competition laws in Europe and the US levelled by Vincent Power (Business This Week, July 7th).
The rise of competition law around the world has been at the front line of the rebalancing of power between ordinary people and widespread national and international corporate collusion aimed at keeping prices artificially high for the purpose of making hyper-inflated profits, at our expense. Good honest competition is all that people want and that is what the law is written to achieve.
Mr Power, however, chose to create a wholly false impression of the law. He based his article on a UK investigation into recent contacts between a BA executive and a Virgin Atlantic executive which he characterises as a "good turn" when he writes "No good turn goes unpunished" in a sarcastic jibe at the law. The truth is that the conversations between these executives was all about co-ordinating ticket price increase for their joint benefit, and had no single element of "good turn" about them.
Any competent business executive worth the title knows full well that this kind of secret collusion on pricing is totally illegal and immoral, and is for the sole purpose of exploiting customers to boost their respective profits.
Mr Power went on to offer what I can only characterise as very dubious advice to Irish executives. He advised them to prepare in advance, as a matter of course, for the prospect of "dawn raids" by the authorities and he also advised them not to associate with employees or executives of competitors at social gatherings or trade associations.
My suggestion to executives of small and large companies here, and abroad, is to act morally, fairly and according to the law. They should continue to socialise with whomever they chose and ignore anyone's advice that implies otherwise.
They will then have nothing whatsoever to fear. If they choose otherwise, however, then I hope someone in their company will have the sense and duty to call the authorities before they can follow Mr Power's advice. - Yours, etc,
HOWARD BRITTAIN, Negotiation Consultant, Killiney, Co Dublin.