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Mediation Mediator of water and water ...

Written by Administrator Saturday, 25 June 2011 07:11

Established in October 2009 in order to facilitate the amicable settlement of disputes between consumers and utilities delegated water and sanitation, water Mediation has released its latest annual report 2010.

This associative structure includes players representing the responsibility of the water in France that are the communities via the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) and the Assembly of Communities of France (ADCF), the private via delegated Professional Federation of Enterprises in Water (FP2E) and the Federation of Independent Water Dispensers (FDEI), consumers using the twelve consumer partners (all are not), the services of the state via the Directorate water and an agreement with the Ombudsman became the Defender of Rights.

It has appointed a chairman for three years, Mark Cenci, who has held many elected posts in Rodez Aveyron and in the presidency and the ADCF for 19 years. He is assisted by a director and a lawyer who rely on a charter consistent with the recommendations of the National Consumer Council (NCC) and a process including providing a preliminary diagnosis and a final notice.

With gripes at the national level in 1002, 174 eligible cases and 115 of them dealt with his opinion, "the mediation of water has proved its usefulness," says the Ombudsman of the water in his speech of March 24, 2011 . However, he deplored "it will take up a misunderstanding," noting the low participation of boards (only 15 cases), if some of them recognized the role of the mediator of the water, the vast majority refuse any collaboration.

An alternative to the Ombudsman of the water?

Indeed, he will escape any professional sector initiated the mediation of the water does not count among its members the National Federation of Local Authorities and Principals (FNCCR) and its Advisory Committee of the Boards, which includes most of the direct representatives of the water services authority, has even spoken clearly against any recognition of the Ombudsman of Water.

Their main motivation lies in the fact that many of them have already developed their own local way of amicable resolution they consider faster, more efficient, especially closer to their users.

Thus, an governed inter (365 communes and 130,000 subscribers) intends to designate its own agent to include a Mediation Alternative Dispute Processing and Conflict (MARLC) in its customer relations. This would build on a charter incorporating a structured process with a reconciliation "offered in law and equity a solution acceptable to both parties" for handling disputes in the spirit of the recommendations of the CNC, followed by mediation " assist the parties in delivering a sustainable agreement "(if the dispute escalates into conflict), friendly CODEOME developed by the Professional Chamber of Mediation and Negotiation (FCNM).

This project is being piloted in July 2010. The agent has already trained with the EPMN Mediators Associates and initial results are encouraging in terms of speed, efficiency, and listening to customers; of 43 mandates of management, 34 cases were resolved by conciliation , 4 and only 5 mediation failed to produce any agreement or disagreement. The project also has the advantage of not oppose Conciliation and Mediation, but to make them complementary.