Decent Work & Cooperatives: global experiences with an eye to the future Simel Esim ILO Cooperatives Unit
Definition of a cooperative «A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise» ICA Cooperative Identity (1995) ILO Recommendation 193 (2002)
Cooperative principles 1. Voluntary and open membership 2. Democratic member control 3. Member economic participation 4. Autonomy and independence 5. Education, training and information 6. Cooperation among cooperatives 7. Concern for community ICA Cooperative Identity (1995) ILO Recommendation 193 (2002)
ILO s work on cooperatives today Policy Dialogue Policy & legislation Research-based advocacy Capacity building ILO promotes the cooperative business model to create and maintain sustainable enterprises, offering jobs that not only provide income but also pave the way for broader social and economic advancement, strengthening individuals, their families and communities.
Legal and policy advice Recommendation 193 on Promotion of Cooperatives (2002) used by over 100 countries to develop, revise and modify their regulatory frameworks on cooperatives COOP Legislative Package
ILO & Coop Tools My.COOP for agricultural cooperatives Be.Coop for start-up cooperatives My.Financial.Coop for apex organizations of financial coops Social & Solidarity Economy Academy, Online Module and Reader Project Design Manual for Cooperatives Generate Your Social Business Idea: Learners Guide South Africa Women Leadership Training Manual Let s Organize! : Syndicoop Handbook for Trade Unions & Cooperatives on Organizing Workers in the Informal Economy Training for agricultural cooperatives on the elimination of child labour
Cooperatives in a changing world of work Economic changes: 1) Savings and credit cooperatives, cooperative banks and credit unions have grown; ethical banking, financial cooperatives, community development banks, solidarity microfinance, complementary currencies, community based savings schemes, participatory budgeting, crowdfunding, crypto-currencies, social impact bonds and impact investing. 2) Initiatives to make a buyout bid and transform the firm into a worker cooperative 3) New legislation that put financial and legal support systems in place that facilitate such enterprise restructuring including Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Brazil, Greece and Canada
Cooperatives in a changing world of work Demographic changes: Care cooperatives in Japan, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Turkey and Jordan provide a wide range of services, from day-care for children to home-care for the elderly. Inclusion of youth Youth Deal Cooperative aims at improving social coherence and well-being amongst local communities. They also support labour market entry and integration of young people who might otherwise be left struggling at the margins of the job markets. Cooperative enterprises of domestic workers are emerging from countries as diverse as the Republic of Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, the US, India and the Philippines. They offer a range of services from finance and education to job placement, including through online platforms.
Cooperatives in a changing world of work Technological changes: Self-employed workers as well as workers in the gig economy have been establishing freelancer coops in countries across the Americas, Europe and beyond to share costs and services, for instance workplaces. Platform economy, platform cooperatives are being formed by gig economy workers in response to the challenges they are facing, including low pay, the quality of work, and lack of voice and representation Emerging technologies through online platforms that support production and sociality, digital labour brokering, collectively-owned and democraticallycontrolled web-based marketplaces, and all those initiatives that directly support this economic model.
Cooperatives in a changing world of work Environmental changes: In urban areas, cooperatives exist in waste management systems, particularly in the form of waste picker cooperatives in countries such as India, Brazil, Colombia and South Africa. Renewable energy industry
Agricultural cooperatives Workers cooperatives Social service cooperatives Savings and Credit Cooperatives
How do cooperatives formalize informal economy? Associating individual producers in making the production & marketing of their goods or services more predictable & economically sustainable Establishing an SME with a single production system and achieving economies of scale enabling it to turn into a formal economy enterprise Creating and/or joining a credit and saving system that gives them access to productive credit, enabling them to consolidate their economic activities Providing a certain level of social protection, including health insurance, through self-funded and mutually established insurance systems Allowing for collective voice & negotiation power with other public and private stakeholders in the local economy & across the value chain
Cooperative experiences from two groups of self-employed workers in the informal economy Waste pickers cooperatives Domestic workers cooperatives
Waste pickers cooperatives
Challenges faced by waste pickers Collect small amounts of recyclables Rely on middlemen rather than negotiate for self in the market Struggle to add value to waste w/o access to capital & infrastructure Unhealthy working conditions, child labour, non-recognition as workers Lack of access to basic social services Limited knowledge on how to move upstream in the value chain Isolated without access to policy makers Benefits of coops for waste pickers Gather recyclables in quantities large enough to approach industries directly & negotiate better prices Support members in accessing financial services for value added Rights: OSH, working hours, protective equipment, etc. Service provision: childcare services Diversify services or specialize (i.e. in e-waste to move up the value chain Formalized networks at national & international levels
SWaCH Coop Pune, India A trade union (KKPKP) established SWaCH cooperative for waste pickers in Pune, India Started in 2007 to provide front end waste management services to the city of Pune Pairs of members are responsible for door-to-door waste collection for 250-350 hhs Waste pickers segregate waste - wet or organic waste and dry wastes such as plastics, glass, paper, etc.) from generators The 2,300 members of the coop are paid through user fees from households Members of the coop also segregate waste and sell recyclables After the cooperative members collected waste, they take it to the designated point where it is collected by municipal cars Municipality provides a secondary collection system
The role of workers organizations Assist cooperative employees to join trade unions Assist trade union members to establish cooperatives Participate in setting up cooperatives to create or maintain employment Promote productivity, equality of opportunity and rights of worker-members Undertake education and training
Domestic workers & cooperatives
What is a domestic worker? ILO Convention 189 (defines a domestic worker as one who performs the following tasks: Cooking Cleaning Washing and ironing laundry Child care Elderly care Maintaining the garden Driving the family car etc.
Domestic Workers in the informal economy 52.6 million domestic workers worldwide where 83% of them are women 29.9 % excluded from national labor regulations Challenges: Isolated in private households Lack of legal protection Immigration status Language barrier among migrant workers Exploitation
Cooperatives of domestic workers SEWA India, a union that supports its members through financial cooperatives SEWA Kerala: skill training and job placement through a pre-coop collective NUDE, a union in Trinidad & Tobago has a coop for market access its members A domestic worker housing coop was established in South Africa with support from COSATU SADSAWU, a union of domestic workers in South Africa, is planning coops Asia Migrant Saving and Credit Union in Hong Kong National House Managers Cooperatives, Republic of Korea
Example of ILO Project: SYNDICOOP Stirling Smith
ILO SYNDICOOP Project Four year project aimed to strengthen trade union & cooperative capacities to organize unprotected informal economy workers in select countries in Africa Improved the beneficiaries working & living conditions through pilot coop projects 7,000 workers were organized into coops Market traders (Kenya) Informal transport workers(rwanda) Saving & credit cooperatives (Tanzania and Uganda) Stirling Smith
Co-operative solutions for self-employed workers In Swindon, 50 music teachers have come together to form a coop to market their services to schools, with support from the Musicians Union In London, interpreters came together in November 2012 in a co-op RICOL after changes in their terms and conditions when the firm Capita took on the contract to provide interpretation services in judicial courts. In Wales, the Oren Actors Management Co-op allows actors between roles to work as agents for other co-op member actors, marketing their services Source: Co-operative UK
Co-operative solutions for self-employed workers The Freelancers Union has been formed for the self-employed in the USA. It has attracted over 280,000 members which is indicative of the potential, but constitutionally it is a mutual and remains separate from mainstream union federations In the Netherlands and Spain general unions for self-employed workers have emerged and developed since the late 1990s. These provide a range of services as well as representation In Belgium, SMart is a co-operative with 60,000 members, supporting them by invoicing and collecting debts for them In France, legislation that came into force in January 2016 recognises the role of 72 business and employment co-operatives, supporting members with accounting and access to the sickness pay and benefits of conventional employees In India, the Self-employed Women s Association brings together 1.7 million members and acts as a service co-operative, for example providing microinsurance, and as a trade union fighting for member rights Source: Co-operative UK
We all have a role to play: Cooperatives: to defend their autonomy; Cooperative members: to demand good governance in cooperatives; Governments: to revise cooperative polices and laws; Civil society: to advocate policy changes; Trade unions: to promote cooperatives among members; and Employers: to broaden outreach. International alliances