News from the field
Domestic workers in Trinidad and Tobago moving toward enhancing sustainability of their cooperative
The ILO partnered with the Service Workers Centre Cooperative Society (SWCC) in Trinidad and Tobago to organize a workshop to discuss concrete steps toward enhancing the sustainability of the cooperative. The workshop focused on priority topics such as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for domestic workers; further revisions to the action plan and business plan for SWCC; and validation of model employment contracts. >>More
A Zimbabwean trade union takes a first step towards establishing a worker cooperative for its unemployed members
Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union (ZIBAWU) organized a workshop to discuss the establishment of a worker cooperative which will provide employment opportunities for its members who lost their jobs following the Zuva Judgement in 2015. An ILO representative from the Harare Office participated in the workshop, sharing examples of job preservation through worker cooperatives in other parts of the world. >>More
A new ILO project in Sri Lanka strengthens natural disaster resilience of rural communities including through cooperatives
The recurrent occurrence of climate-related disasters in Sri Lanka has paved way for resilience building, which is becoming increasingly important component in reducing household vulnerabilities and building sustainable livelihoods, especially in rural economy. In this context, a new project was launched to support livelihoods improvement by strengthening disaster resilience of rural communities in the North and the South West of Sri Lanka, as part of the ILO’s Flagship Programme on Jobs for Peace and Resilience (JPR). The project has strong complementarities with the existing projects such as the Local Empowerment through Economic Development (LEED) project and targets much of the same beneficiaries as identified in those projects, including farmers/fishers cooperatives.. >>More
Meeting updates
COPAC organized a side event at the CSocD56 to discuss cooperative contributions to poverty eradication
On the occasion of the 56th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD56), COPAC and the Permanent Mission of Mongolia organized a high-level luncheon at the United Nations in New York. More than 40 representatives from COPAC member organizations, Member States, UN agencies and cooperatives met to discuss how cooperatives can contribute to the eradication of poverty and what governments and the international community can do to tap into their full potential. Vinicius Carvalho Pinheiro, Special Representative to the United Nations and Director of the ILO Office for the United Nations, highlighted the relevance of COPAC’s initiative on improving statistics of cooperatives toward understanding cooperatives’ contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. >>More↗
ILO participates in the Asia-Pacific Co-operative Development Conference in Sri Lanka
The 1st Asia-Pacific Co-operative Development (APCD) Conference took place in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the theme Building Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships on Sustainable Development. The ILO representatives from the Office for Sri Lanka and the Representative Office in Jerusalem participated in the conference and presented at panels on eradicating poverty and improving access to basic goods and services. >>More
ILO’s participation in a public hearing on the role of social economy in the future of work at the European Parliament
“The SSE presents itself as a viable solution to recent crises”, said Vic Van Vuuren, Director of the ILO’s Enterprises Department, at a public hearing on the role of the social economy in shaping the future of work organized at the European Parliament. >>More
ILO's presentation at the Unicoop Florence Annual Convention focuses on the role of social and solidarity economy in the future of work
The Director of the ILO’s Enterprises Department, Vic van Vuuren presented on the role of social and solidarity economy in the future of work as a keynote speaker at the Unicoop Florence Annual Convention. >>More
Spotlight interviews with co-operators
Interview with Trebor Scholz – connecting cooperatives to the future of work, digitally
"Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators" is a series of interviews with cooperative leaders from around the world with whom ILO officials have crossed paths during the course of their work with cooperatives. For this issue, ILO interviewed Professor Trebor Scholz from The New School, a scholar and an activist who developed the concept of “platform cooperativism”. >>More
New ILO publications on cooperatives
Statistics on cooperatives in Costa Rica
As part of “Country in Focus on Statistics of Cooperatives” series launched by the ILO in collaboration with COPAC, a case study for Costa Rica is now available in English with the Spanish version coming shortly.
Summary of ILO/WIEGO joint publication on cooperation among workers in the informal economy now available in Portuguese
A summary of key findings for the ILO/WIEGO joint publication “Cooperation among workers in the informal economy: A focus on home-based workers and waste pickers” is now available in Portuguese, following the English, French and Spanish versions.
Noteworthy resources and news
The theme of the 2018 International Day of Co-operatives is sustainable consumption and production
The theme for the 2018 International Day of Co-operatives is “sustainable consumption and production” in line with that of the 2018 High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF): "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”. It was unveiled at an event organized by COPAC on the occasion of the 56th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD56) in New York. The 2018 International Day will be celebrated on the 7th of July (the first Saturday of July). >>More↗
CECOP and CICOPA appoint Diana Dovgan as Secretary-General
The Boards of CECOP (CICOPA Europe) and CICOPA have appointed Diana Dovgan, the two organizations’ Senior Policy Officer, as Secretary General as of 1st of March, following the departure of the previous Secretary General Bruno Roelants who has been appointed in January as Director General of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA). >>More↗
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