5000 cooperative enterprises

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• 5000 cooperative enterprises
• 11 million members
• 27,000,000,000 turnover
• 240,000 jobs
• Largest consumer cooperative in the world the
  Co-operative Group

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History

• Consumer Cooperatives and Worker Co-operatives
  separate development 1880 2001
• UK Consumer Cooperatives very successful until
  1960. Renaissance since 2000.
• Consumer cooperatives politically acceptable
  especially to Labour governments
• Trade Unions and Employers hostile to worker
  cooperatives

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UK worker co-operatives today

• 200 worker co-operative members Coops UK
• Most started in 1970s
• 400 in total in UK
• Largest has 130 members. Most are small
  partnerships of 3 or 4 people

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Obstacles to growth of worker co-operatives

• Unknown model of business no business schools
  promoting worker co-op model
• Political disinterest or hostility.
• Legal no definition of worker owner, treated as
  simple employees or self-employed independent
  partners
• Legal no legal definition of a co-operative
• Lack of worker cooperative management skills
  suitable for UK culture

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Employee Ownerships

• John Lewis Partnership department stores and
  supermarkets 70,000 partners
• Scott Bader 400 partners
• Politically more acceptable 100 100EOs
• Not full democracies

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Social Enterprises

• Big growth 50,000 in a few years but most are
  converted charities, former state services and
  publicly funded services (voluntary sector)
• Strong political support
• Not democratic but they confuse the issues
  because cooperatives are defined as social
  enterprises

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The future

• Cooperatives UK specialist support for worker
  cooperatives
• Network of Cooperative Development Agencies
• Internet networks between worker co-ops
• International networking
• Worker Co-operative Code of Governance
• Increase in political awareness among young job
  seekers looking for ethical employment

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