78th ICA International Co-operative Day 6th UN International Day of Cooperatives "Cooperatives and Employment Promotion"

Open Forum "Decent Work: Can cooperatives make a difference?" Introduction – Agenda – Abstracts of Presentations

Introduction

The Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) will organize an Open Forum to highlight the contribution of cooperatives in creating, retaining and expanding job opportunities in industrialized as well as developing countries.It will highlight the experience of the cooperative movement in the United States, the Mondragon movement in Spain, the financial cooperatives in France, Scandinavian new cooperatives, the Self-Employed Women's Association(SEWA) in India and the role of agricultural cooperatives in creating quality jobs.

Organized in close collaboration with the Cooperative Branch of the International Labour Office, the Forum will be one of the side events hosted by the ILO during the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly which will review progress in the implementation of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995). It will also be an advance event to celebrate the International Day of Cooperatives (1 July 2000) whose theme this year is "Cooperatives and Employment Promotion".

The meeting is open to all interested and will have English-French-Spanish simultaneous translation.

Agenda

Abstracts

Paul Hazen, President and CEO of the National Cooperative Business Association (USA) Cooperative Employment Trends in the United States During Economic Prosperity

The United States economy is now in its longest economic expansion in history. During these past eight years of record economic expansion, the growth of the cooperative sector of the economy has been spectacular through both an increase in membership and an explosion of new cooperative development. While the US economy has provided economic benefits for most citizens, more people are looking to cooperatives to provide competition and choice in the marketplace. Many others see cooperatives as providing more control and self-determination over their economic lives.

Mr. Hazen will present examples of US cooperatives that are expanding employment opportunities and reducing poverty throughout the country. A highlight of the presentation will focus on successful job creation efforts for low-income women in urban communities. Another example will profile rural communities that are revitalizing their economies by creating new jobs through cooperative development.

Still other examples will include small business purchasing cooperatives in the US that have been very successful in retaining jobs and stabilizing the economies of many communities. The same is true for worker cooperatives, as there are many successful examples of the transfer of ownership from management to the employees thereby preserving jobs that might otherwise have been lost if the business simply closed down.

The growth of existing cooperatives and the development of new ones are changing the cooperative sector of the economy in the US as people seek more control over their lives. This presentation will highlight this trend.

Etienne Pflimlin, President, Confédération Nationale du Crédit Mutuel (France) Comment le Crédit Mutuel crée de nouveaux emplois et maintient les emplois existants? How does Crédit Mutuel create new and maintain jobs ?

(Presentation to be made in French)

L'engagement pour l'emploi du Crédit Mutuel se traduit, en interne, par la mise en œuvre d'une politique sociale active, et dans son environnement local, par un engagement en termes de financement des professionnels et de partenariat pour le développement local et l'insertion par l'économique.

En interne, la stratégie de développement et la recherche de rentabilité du Crédit Mutuel s'accompagnent non pas de réduction des effectifs mais visent simultanément la croissance, la productivité et l'emploi. Après une forte période de croissance de ses effectifs dans les années 80 liée au développement des caisses locales et á la montée en puissance de l'activité de bancassurance, le Crédit Mutuel a poursuivi le renforcement de son réseau dans les années 90.

Le développement de l'emploi est soutenu par un dialogue social de qualité, au niveau national et fédéral. Le Crédit Mutuel a ainsi mis en œuvre depuis une dizaine d'année une politique active et préventive de l'emploi et réalise des investissements significatifs en termes de formation. La politique sociale du Crédit Mutuel a pour objectif d'accompagner les collaborateurs dans leur développement professionnel. Elle met á leurs dispositions les moyens nécessaires pour s'adapter aux fortes évolutions des métiers et des compétences, liées aux changements technologiques et commerciaux majeurs qui se sont produits ces dix dernières années.

De plus, les négociations, depuis 1997, d'accords d'aménagement et de réduction du temps de travail se sont accompagnées de créations d'emplois en nombre important. Ces démarches se sont inscrites dans des projets d'entreprise. Ils visent á renforcer la dynamique de développement, á rechercher une flexibilité de l'organisation notamment en termes d'ouverture á la clientèle et á créer de l'emploi qualifié pour parer au vieillissement des effectifs et préparer la " relève ".

Banque du développement local et de la proximité, le Crédit Mutuel a toujours été conscient du rôle clé des professionnels dans l'emploi et le soutien á l'activité économique. Ainsi, il a développé la commercialisation de Crédemploi, un crédit moins cher pour les artisans qui créent des emplois. Cette démarche est prolongée par différents guides d'aide á la création et á la gestion.

Dans le cadre de partenariats avec les organismes consulaires, les organismes de garantie, les sociétés d'affacturage, la banque s'est engagée au sein " d'entreprendre en France "" á accompagner le créateur chef d'entreprise pendant les trois premières années de son activité. Ce suivi est matérialisé par plusieurs types de service : mise en place de tableau de bord, parrainage, conseil en financement, conseils spécifiques.

Plus largement, l'engagement mutualiste et l'organisation coopérative du Crédit Mutuel lui permettent de mobiliser de nombreuses énergies individuelles et collectives. Beaucoup de choses sont faites au niveau local. Les Fédérations régionales ont toujours fait preuve d'imagination (bonification d'intérêt pour la rénovation de façade d'artisan-commerçant dans les zones défavorisées, formation…). La plupart d'entre elles ont créé des outils dédiés á l'insertion économique, sociale ou professionnelle. Ces associations ou fondations tel " créavenir " détectent des projets et les réalisent, seules ou avec des partenaires, et interviennent aussi á travers des prêts d'honneur, du don de matériel, de la formation, de l'aide logistique et des analyses fiscales et juridiques.

Banque de proximité depuis toujours, le Crédit Mutuel est aussi impliqué dans des programmes de soutien á la vie locale. Depuis de nombreuses années, il est le partenaire de référence de l'association pour le droit á l'initiative économique (ADIE) dont l'objet est de lutter contre le chômage et l'exclusion en finançant des micro-projets de création d'entreprise par des chômeurs.

Créateur d'emploi, développeur d'emploi, tuteur, accompagnateur, banquier voilá bien la fidélité aux racines de notre mouvement qui s'exprime á travers ces réalités.

When government-led efforts to solve the unemployment problem failed, the active skilled unemployed took the initiative to become self-employed through cooperatives. People have started to seek alternative ways of self-employment. The values and principles of cooperatives are increasingly attractive and the ‘old’ cooperative way of working is now considered very modern.

Ms. Mattson will highlight the growth of the new cooperative movement in Scandinavia especially with regard to the emerging group of women entrepreneurs who have chosen the cooperative form to organize.

Javier Salaberria, President, Confederación de Cooperativas de Euskadi (Spain) La Experiencia de Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa< The Mondragon Experience

(Presentation to be made in Spanish)

Tras una breve presentación de la realidad actual de Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa - MCC (grupo cooperativo intersectorial, basado en la intercooperació;n, con una cierta unidad de dirección estratégica, lo que, entre otros aspectos le ha posibilitado ser actualmente el primer grupo industrial del País Vasco), la presentación se centra en el análisis de lo que ha constituido uno de los "leit-motiv" de la experiencia cooperativa de Mondragón: el mantenimiento y la creación de empleo.

Esta aspiración forma parte de su filosofía inspiradora y de su política empresarial. No basta sin embargo para ello con un discurso intencional, sino que es necesario poner los medios e instrumentos necesarios. En la presentación se analizan por tanto los factores condicionantes del desarrollo económico y de la generación de empleo que constituyen los rasgos -algunos claramente diferenciadores de otras realidades empresariales- que han caracterizado la evolución y desarrollo de MCC: cooperación interempresarial, flexibilidad organizativa, compromiso institucional, instrumentación financiera, formación, investigación, solidaridad, previsión social, etc. Tras ver los logros conseguidos, concluye con una breve mirada sobre alguno de los planes más sugestivos que MCC tiene para los próximos años en esta materia.

SEWA has chosen to adopt the joint strategies of struggle and development efforts to organize self-employed women workers, and move towards our vision of a new society. Generally, efforts at organising are focussed either on struggle efforts alone or only on development. Although each effort alone has its strengths, it also has its drawbacks which are compensated for when combined with the other.

On the positive side, struggle efforts draw positive attention to exploitative situations, bring visibility for issues facing workers, create pressure on the existing system to respond and reduce exploitation, build unity and courage among the workers and inculcate a spirit of sacrifice among them. Struggle efforts are able to involve large numbers of workers and help to build a movement of workers. The specific issues of struggle, by confronting the existing system, are able to show the way for change.

But struggle alone also has negative implications, especially for the self-employed workers. Being unorganized, weak, and poor, they have very limited bargaining strength. Their ability to sustain a struggle is severely limited by economic pressures. Hence it is easy to victimize them and break their determination to struggle efforts are mainly a process of making demands and pressures on a system for more and more benefits for a particular group of people. When successful, they tend to become inward-looking and may not necessarily contribute to regenerating resources. Struggle efforts rise and fall with the emergence of issue and are not continuous and on-going in nature.

Similarly development efforts alone have their own pros and cons. Development efforts are able to create a constructive alternative to an unacceptable system, they are able to impart skills in the workers and develop a capacity of self-sufficiency. They are able to create asset ownership, control, and autonomy for the workers. Development issues help to build an organizational base as they are continuous and on-going in nature.

On the other hand, development efforts tend to become only commercial-minded and limited in outlook. They are not able to reach very large numbers of people and may work towards the good of a few people only. They forget about the good of all workers. They also tend to fit with the existing status quo rather than question it.

Independently, therefore, both struggle and development efforts have limitations to bring about change and create a new society. However, combining both these approaches creates a unique potential force SEWA continues to evolve this joint strategy of struggle and development by working at the grass-roots with self-employed women workers.

The efforts of struggle and development have to be constantly balanced and combined for building on their respective positive aspects, and minimizing the negative implications. Together, struggle and development are able to establish increased solidarity for workers and increased concrete benefits by the participatory involvement of the workers. They are also able to question the status quo. and build an alternative. Development efforts to be successful always involve struggle at some point, and this capacity has to be inculcated in the workers. Struggle efforts have to build concrete development orientation for sustained involvement of the members. All the members of society, in our vision, must have the capacity for struggle when the needs arise, and must be involved in on-going development work of sustenance. From the struggle efforts we understand the nature of exploitation and from development efforts we build our own alternatives.

Struggle and development, in turn entail organization building and a growing movement which go hand-in-hand and are complementary to each other. Both are incomplete and have limited effectiveness in themselves. A continuous balance has to be maintained between an organization and a movement. Organizations give the movement stability and continually and the movement carries the organizations on to social change.

Struggle and development activities have both to be carried out under the auspices of some organizational form. Of the various organizational forms available in the legal framework of our country, the ones which embody the values of struggle and development had to be identified. The considerations for the choice of organizational form for SEWA have been the following :

• One in which the self-employed workers are the members.
• One, which allows the direct control of the members of the organization, the workers, to form the decision-making body.
• One which is based n democratic principles of membership and elected representatives of the workers.
• One which encourages and strengthens the direct participation of the members who are the self-employed workers.
• One which has an equal basis of financial contribution by all workers to establish a right in the organization. It also has voting rights based on the numerical strength of members and not on the financial strength. Each member has one vote only.
• One which establishes accountability to the workers themselves as the ultimate forum.
• One which is a representative organization of the workers.

These considerations clearly pointed to the trade union form of organization for the struggles efforts, and the cooperative form of organization for the development efforts. SEWA is registered as a trade union and has sponsored autonomous cooperatives of the respective trade groups. The joint action of struggle and development is translated into reality through the joint action of trade union and co-operative. A constant balance is maintained between the two by focussing on the on-going organization and building a movement of the self-employed workers simultaneously. Both the forms-union and cooperative - are ideologically participatory and focus on the worker-identity of the members. They are people's organizations. SEWA is a people's organization.

Charles Kabuga, Acting Head, Developing Country Activities, International Federation of Agricultural Producers IFAP Decent Work and Agricultural Cooperatives

What is decent work in the agricultural context and why has it become so urgent today? Mr. Kabuga will provide answers to this question demonstrate how agricultural cooperatives are making contributions to providing quality jobs.He will also highlight what is needed to increase the capacity of agricultural cooperatives to be more effective in providing decent jobs.

The Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives COPAC is a successful and on-going partnership between representatives of the cooperative movement together with farmers´ organizations, and the United Nations and its agencies. Members work together on equal terms to promote and coordinate sustainable cooperative development through policy dialogues, technical cooperation and information, and concrete collaborative activities. Its members include the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), International Labour Office (ILO), United Nations (UN), and World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU).

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Updated: 14 June 2000