Co-operatives mentioned in new ILO recommendation
Co-operatives are mentioned in the International Labour Organization’s new recommendation to tackle the informal economy. The document highlights that an integrated policy framework for the transition to the formal economy should include the promotion of entrepreneurship and of different types of business models, including co-operatives and other social and solidarity economy units.
This text is the result of discussions that took place in a dedicated Committee of the 104th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) held on 1 -13 June in Geneva to tackle a wide range of issues, including the transition from the informal to the formal economy. The Committee, composed of governments, trade unions and employers organisations, had already started its work at last year’s session of the ILC for 10 days, during which CICOPA was present in representation of the International Co-operative Alliance, obtaining a series of mentions of co-operatives in the text.
The document Cooperatives are key to the transition from the informal to the formal economy, elaborated by CICOPA and distributed among delegates, argues that the co-operative entrepreneurial model is particularly adapted to lifting people out of poverty and carrying out the transition to the formal economy.
“How do co-operatives and other social and solidarity economy enterprises contribute to the transition? By providing a socio-economic voice and representation to ordinary citizens, economies of scale, a wide array of enterprise support services (training and education, financing, advisory services etc.), and gradual administrative formalisation”, said the Secretary General of CICOPA, Bruno Roelants.
The Recommendation – the first ever international labour standard specifically aimed at tackling the informal economy – was passed by 484 votes in favour and garnered outstanding support from the ILO’s tripartite constituents (government, employer and worker representatives). The vote by the International Labour Conference is seen as a crucial step in assisting countries to set up the necessary measures to promote decent job creation and sustainable enterprises in the formal economy.
Read Bruno Roelants full speech at the Committee on the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy on 2 June: http://bit.ly/1STIAAv
Governments, as well as employers' and workers' organisations from around the world agree to promote the creation of co-operatives within the framework of the ILO
Cooperatives are widely included in the Conclusions of the ILO Committee on SMEs and Employment Creation. They are mentioned in terms of clustering, networking, value chain and local economic development, as well as service providers to SMEs and sectoral development. This text is the result of the discussions which took place in a dedicated Committee of the 104th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) held from 1 to 13 June in Geneva.
As a specific focus, promoting the creation of producers’ and workers’ cooperatives is explicitly called for. One whole paragraph is fully dedicated to cooperatives: “The work of the ILO on cooperative enterprises should be expanded to develop intervention models to provide support to enterprises and trade unions in the provision of finance and business services that are scalable and replicable. The ILO should continue and expand upon its technical assistance on policy and legislative reform of cooperatives as outlined in the Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193)”.
Read Bruno Roelants’ full speech at the Committee on SMEs and Employment Creation on 2 June here
Colombian co-operatives in state of alert
In recent weeks co-operatives in Colombia have had to respond to various attacks from official sources.
Article 69 of the National Development Plan (PND), which would have opened the door to allowing health co-operatives to be turned into private profit-making companies, was ultimately removed on 6 May. However, only a few days the government announced an extension of its takeover of SaludCoop – a co-operative that is owned by 23 co-operatives and solidarity sector entities, which the government took over four years ago – specifying as a condition for resolving the situation “that of not giving back ownership to its ‘former’ owners”. This would involve a process of expropriation that ought to be preceded by a court ruling, which does not exist.
Although the article in question specifically referred to the case of SaludCoop, senators agreed that it would open the door so that “further down the line it could be extended to include other health co-operatives and even co-operatives in other sectors”, and the article was removed. The Colombian co-operative movement had gathered 6,800 signatures in only a matter of days from people expressing their rejection of this article of the PND.
CICOPA added its voice to this call, and sent a letter to the Colombian government. “A ruling such as this infringes upon the very nature of a co-operative, and constitutes a negative precedent for the Colombian co-operative sector”, said Manuel Mariscal, president of CICOPA. Given the Colombian Government’s commitment to achieving peace and working towards equality, CICOPA also asked that consideration be given in the National Development Plan (PND) to promoting producers’ co-operatives, in both rural and urban areas, because this was not included in the bill.
On 15 May the government, extending its takeover of SaludCoop by eight months, announced that during this timeframe the situation of SaludCoop would be resolved, having as a condition “that of not giving back ownership to its ‘former’ owners”. This would involve a process of expropriation that ought to be preceded by a court ruling, which does not exist.
In light of this announcement, Ascoop (The Colombian Association of Cooperatives) sent a letter to the Minister for Health and Social Welfare asking that he met with union representatives so that they can explain the co-operative sector’s proposal to him. This proposal recommends a restructure of how the co-operative operates, and a return to normality for it, whilst respecting both the laws that govern the health system in Colombia and the constitutional mandate to promote, protect and strengthen associative and solidary forms of ownership, “in order to guarantee that a quality and sustainable service continues to be provided to the almost seven million members.”
Loomio: the collaborative decision-making tool designed by a worker co-operative
You may have heard of Loomio. The name might sound familiar to the ones using collaborative platforms. A hint: it’s called Loomio, like a loom for weaving diverse perspectives together. Yes. It is indeed an online tool for decision-making, built by a team of technologists, activists and co-operators in New Zealand.
The mission of the enterprise is not surprising, as the creators themselves are members of a worker co-operative having the same name. “We’re a mission-driven organisation with a social purpose at our core: Loomio exists to make it easy for anyone, anywhere, to participate in decisions that affect their lives”, announces their website.
Loomio emerged from the need to make inclusive group decisions during the Occupy movement in 2011. “We experienced the transformative potential of collaborative decision-making, as well as its severe limitations: if people have to be in the same place at the same time to participate, it can never scale. We set out to build a solution to this problem: using the Internet to give people an easy way to make good decisions together, wherever they are.”
Now, more than 75,000 people have made more than 25,000 decisions on Loomio.
How can worker co-operatives inspire the Croatian economy?
Co-operatives have existed in Croatia for 150 years, mostly in the agricultural sector. More recently they started to develop in other sectors, such as in tourism and renewable energies. The creation of social co-operatives providing work integration to disadvantaged groups has been particularly important over the last few years. A new law on co-operatives entered into force in 2011, with a reference to worker co-operatives but no worker co-operative has been created since. Co-operatives in Croatia still suffer from an unfavorable environment, normative limitations and administrative burdens.
In this context, on 14 May the Croatian Center for Co-operative Entrepreneurship organised the conference - Worker co-operatives – great opportunity for new jobs. The purpose of the event, which took place at the Croatian parliament, was to look at this typology of co-operatives trough European experiences and see how they could be developed in the country. A specific focus was put on workers buyouts, as one of the ways to save jobs and possibly sustain Croatian enterprises still impacted by the transition processes through workers co-operatives.
CECOP was invited together with and experts from Coopfond, a co-operative development fund created by Legacoop in Italy, and from CG Scop, the French Confederation of Worker Co-operatives, to share the ingredients of success that allowed some European countries to reach a high level of worker co-operatives development and successful buyouts and businesses transferred to employees.
Around 60 delegates from the Croatian parliament, ministries, trade unions, co-operatives and co-operative organisations, the civil society and universities took part at the event. The president of the Employment Committee, Mr Silvano Hrelja, said: "If EU losses its artisans, farmers and co-operatives, it will loose its own identity".
During its stay in Croatia, CECOP staff has visited Humana Nova, a social co-operatives based in Cakovac providing employment to women with disabilities through the production and selling of textile goods made from recycled fabrics. The co-operative, which is part of ACT Grupa, employs 13 people, 11 of which are worker members, including workers with disability and former unemployed people.
Photo: Bruno Roelants speaking at the International Labour Conference
