Slide 7 of 10

Liberalization

"Business may provide jobs, but this is not its primary purpose. The purpose is to make money…"

• Unemployment not only hits poor, but increasingly the middle class – young and older
• Unemployment reaches 50% in many developing countries

Coops have the opportunity to make a real difference!

Liberalization of economies

For the Rochdale Pioneers in the United Kingdom, it was poverty and the conditions of the industrial revolution that triggered the natural instinct of 'mutual help for self- help'. The co-operative society they formed in the 1840s did not only make a difference but it also became an inspiration and a model to the rest of mankind seeking to improve their situation through decent work. As I see it, the prevailing economic conditions in our countries will dictate a co-operative action to the current problems being encountered.

We are told that liberalization of our economies will attract investors who in turn will create jobs. Indeed they will and some people will get jobs if they are lucky. However, they can only keep in employment if profits are good. As Chancellor Williams rightly points out and I quote him. "Business may provide jobs, but this is not its primary purpose. The purpose is to make money, not to make jobs. Indeed the system seeks to eliminate jobs through new and newer labour saving inventions, culminating in automation where a few maintenance technicians can man a factory that formerly employed thousands". He goes on to say that " Even where millions of workers may be required for the purposes of production and distribution, this may obscure the fact that the system is not primarily for them that their welfare is not merely incidental as its consideration has to be forced by organized labour unions." Just imagine the untold harm that has been inflicted on such workers in countries where the rights to bargain collectively are thwarted by governments anxious to attract and retain investors.

Unemployment is not only a problem to the poor people, to the retrenchees, the unemployed youth or to those who lost jobs through the divestiture of government boards following the liberalization policies. It is also a problem for the middle class who ordinarily would seem to be well off. They too look with dismay at the frustrations of their sons and daughters looking for jobs in a devastated job market. Unemployment in many developing countries is fifty per cent or more of the active population. This is a huge waste of social capital.

Comments or questions? Contact the COPAC Coordinator.
Posted: 17 July 2000