News from the field
Boosting quinoa producers income through cooperatives in Peru
A joint ILO-FAO-UNESCO programme launched in 2015 supported smallholder farmers improve their livelihoods through getting better market prices and creating a production system of organic quinoa through agricultural cooperatives. As part of the project, 31 farmers participated in the My.Coop training, exchanging and learning about the advantages of cooperatives and how to improve the management of cooperatives. >>More
Meeting updates
Trade unions and producer organizations join forces to tackle child labour in agriculture
In September the ILO and the FAO organized a workshop in Accra to discuss ways to eradicate child labour in agriculture in line with the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 8.7. The workshop brought together over 20 representatives of trade unions and small producers organizations, including cooperatives, from 13 African countries, and adopted a joint statement for the IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour that will be held in Buenos Aires in November 2017. >>More
International researchers meet to discuss the role of SSE and social finance
On 3-4 October, the ILO organized an international workshop in Leuven in the framework of the ILO’s research project on the contributions of social and solidarity economy and social finance to a sustainable future of work. The workshop, which gathered an international team of researchers and representatives from the ILO, discussed findings from 12 case studies in nine countries and the way forward. >>Find out more on the research project
Looking at the past and the future of My.Coop
On 13 October, representatives of Agriterra, ITC-ILO and the ILO Cooperatives Unit met in Geneva to discuss the findings of a stocktaking study on My.Coop training package for improving management of agricultural cooperatives, with a view to enabling more cooperatives to benefit from it. >>More
G7 Labour and Employment Ministers’ Declaration refers to cooperatives
Ministers of Labour and Employment of G7 countries met in Turin on 29-30 September to discuss pathways for action for a better future of work. Article 13 of the concluding declaration takes note of the messages heard from the cooperative movement at a side event that took place in Milan concerning “cooperation in digital work transformation” organized by the Italian Cooperatives Alliance. >>More
ILO participates in a social cooperatives academy in Naples
On 21 October, ILO participated in the Social Cooperatives International School in Naples. This is an annual event that promotes an exchange of experiences for the development of social cooperatives and their networks, both at the local and international levels. This year’s participants came from cooperative organizations and government ministries in Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Belgium, Italy and the US. The ILO presented at a roundtable on “Work, sharing economy and platforms: Toward a cooperative approach?” with other panelists from platform cooperative initiatives and research centres in Europe. The ensuing discussion included an emphasis on having a comprehensive approach to future of work, beyond a singular focus on technology, reflecting on demographic, environmental as well as economic changes. There was a call for dialogue between platform cooperatives with trade unions on the social model they pursue as it pertains to social protection and social dialogue, including freedom of association and collective bargaining. Another point of focus was on policy communication on platform cooperatives on what constitutes innovation and challenges to be overcome. >>Check the programme here↗
ILO participates in the 4th World Forum on Local Economic Development to discuss roles of SSE in achieving the SDGs at local level
The IV World Forum of Local Economic Development took place in Praia, Cabo Verde from 17-20 October with a particular attention on how LED is fit for localizing of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The ILO coordinated a sub-topic on Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) within the thematic line on Alternate and Complementary Economic Paradigms. >>More
Spotlight interviews with cooperators
Rokin Labour Banks: Financial cooperatives for workers in Japan
In this issue ILO interviewed Mr Toshihiro Akahori, Deputy General Manager, Planning and International Department of National Association of Labour Banks (NALB) in Japan on the history, the current works and future of Rokin labour banks. >>More
New ILO publications on cooperatives
A substantive step toward producing coherent statistics on cooperatives
As part of a broad initiative on statistics of cooperatives with the technical working group of the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), the ILO published “Conceptual Framework for the Purpose of Measurement of Cooperatives and its Operationalization”. This report defines and describes key concepts concerning the identification and classification of cooperatives, including a discussion on core components and boundary areas, for measurement based on extant work and literature. >>Read the full report here
Statistics on Cooperatives in Iran and Japan
As part of “Country in Focus on Statistics on Cooperatives” series launched by the ILO and other members of COPAC, case studies for Iran and Japan are out now. In addition, Spanish versions of case studies for Canada, Russia, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and Brazil are also available online! Stay tuned for the French versions which will be coming shortly.
WESO 2017: Sustainable enterprises and jobs
ILO published “World Employment and Social Outlook 2017: Sustainable enterprises and jobs – Formal enterprises and decent work” that examines the fundamental role of sustainable enterprises as engines of job creation, and how firms’ characteristics and strategies are related to labour market outcomes and firms’ performance. This report refers to the relevance of cooperative model in providing employment opportunities and enhancing voice and representation particularly for vulnerable groups of workers and the importance of regulatory framework on cooperatives guided by cooperative values and principles. While the cooperative model is not examined in detail owing to the data limitations, the report sets forth ongoing efforts and initiatives on statistics of cooperatives. >>Read the full report here
Noteworthy resources
CECOP President reflects on how cooperatives can support transition to a better future of work
On 15-16 November 2016, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the ILO organized an event on the future of work in Brussels where CECOP President Giuseppe Guerini spoke on cooperatives. His speech reflected on the challenges caused by rapid demographic changes and technological innovations such as imbalance in social security systems, the vulnerability in employment and the growing inequalities. He further reflected on the relevance of the cooperative movement in supporting people who are in danger of being marginalised by these changes. >>More↗
National gathering of cooperation in Japan
On 7-8 October, cooperators from across regions including the Japanese Worker Cooperative Union (JWCU) joined forces to organize Japan’s National Gathering of Cooperation. Close to 1,000 participants took part in the gathering to share good practices of cooperation toward creating a better society where “no one is left behind” as outlined in the framework of the 2030 Agenda. Simel Esim, Head of ILO’s Cooperatives Unit greeted participants with a video message, highlighting the potential of cooperatives in responding to the challenges raised by the rapid changes in the world of work within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. >>More
My.Coop presented at a World Food Day event
In celebration of the World Food Day on 16 October, ethik-labor, Brot für Alle and agrarinfo.ch organized an event in Olten, Switzerland to discuss the causes of and solutions to hunger. Close to 120 people participated in the three key presentations and panel discussion by researchers, practitioners and journalists in the field of food and agriculture. My.Coop was showcased along with 20 other cases as a useful tool, especially for small-scale farmers to sustain and improve their businesses and fight against hunger. >>Check out the programme↗ and the posters↗
The first comparative study of European principles of cooperative law is out
The book “The Principles of European Cooperative Law” is written by a team of legal scholars gathered around the Study Group on European Cooperative Law (SGECOL) with support from Euricse. It aims at describing the common core of European cooperative law based on both existing cooperative laws in Europe and EU regulation on Societas Cooperativa Europaea. >>More↗
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