Pakistani tribunal upholds ruling against Gulf-bound worker medical centers for price fixing

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s competition appeals tribunal has upheld a ruling against 20 medical centers and laboratories that colluded to fix prices and allocate customers for mandatory pre-departure health tests of workers bound for Gulf countries, the competition regulator said on Friday.

The case involves a captive market of low-income Pakistani laborers headed mainly to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Under the rules, these workers must undergo tests at centers approved by the Gulf Approved Medical Centers Association (GAMCA), a network of clinics authorized by Gulf states to carry out the mandatory checks.

The regulator found the centers and their five regional associations divided customers on a rotational basis, eliminating competition on price and service quality, and in some cases charging for unnecessary repeat tests.

“The CCP’s investigation concluded that fee fixation, territorial division and equal allocation of customers by GAMCAs violated the Competition Act, 2010,” the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) said in a statement.