The Promotion of Cooperatives

1. The Promotion ofCooperatives Recommendation No. 193 of the International Labour Organization

2. Summary • Rec. 193: Background • Rec. 193: Key provisions • Rec. 193: Promotional activities • Rec. 193: How it can been used

3. I. Background

4. The ILO and cooperatives 1919 Albert Thomas, a convinced cooperator, becomes ILO’s first Director-General 1920 Establishment of the Cooperative Branch 1960 Technical cooperation begins 1966 Recommendation No. 127 is adopted 1998 The Decent Work paradigm 2002Recommendation No. 193 is adopted 2003 Juan Somavia addresses ICA General Assembly 2004 ICA and ILO sign Memorandum of Understanding

5. From Rec. 127 to Rec. 193: Changing Context • Globalization and local response; • Strongercivil society; • Revised cooperative principles • New development paradigms (MDGs, PRSP, Decent Work) • The emancipation of cooperatives • Rec. 127 limited to developing countries

6. II. Key Provisions

7. A Recommendation is… …not binding, but Governments shall: • bring the text to the attention of relevant national authorities • inform the ILO of the actions taken by these authorities • keep the ILO up-to-date on the position of law and practice regarding the domain addressed by the Recommendation

8. Universal Relevance Paragraph 1: “It is recognized that cooperatives operate in all sectors of the economy. This Recommendation applies to all types and forms of cooperatives.”

9. Social coops Housing coops Agric coops Consumer coops Business coops Universal Relevance Social objectives Community Values and Principles Economic objectives Business Competitiveness

10. Principles and Values • Policy and legal frameworks to be guided by cooperative values and principles • Cooperative autonomy to be respected and encouraged • Common definition with the ICA, values and principles cited, identity statement annexed

11. Equal Treatment Paragraph 7 (2): “Cooperatives should be treated in accordance with national law and practice and on terms no less favourable than those accorded to other forms of enterprise and social organization”

12. The role of Government • Provide a conducive policy and legal environment • Grant support when justified by special circumstances • Strengthen cooperative performance • Develop partnerships

13. The role of employers’ organizations • Extend membership and provision of services to cooperatives wishing to join

14. The role of workers’ organizations • Assist cooperative employees to join trade unions • Assist trade union members to establish cooperatives • Participate in setting up cooperatives to create or maintain employment • Promote productivity, equality of opportunity and rights of worker-members • Undertake education and training

15. The role of cooperative organizations • Work with social partners to create a favourable climate for cooperative development • Provide technical, commercial and financial support services • Promote the horizontal and vertical integration of cooperatives • Invest in human resource development • Represent cooperatives at the international level, and encourage international collaboration

16. III. Promotional Activities

17. Promotional Material • Text of R. 193 to all ICA member organizations and ILO field offices; • Text published on five Internet sites; • Background paper and PowerPoint presentation published in three languages on CD-ROM and shared with ILO offices and development partners; • Newspaper articles published in 11 countries, and guides produced in six countries; • Wall calendar printed (1,000 copies); • Coursesbased on Rec. 192 launched by ITC Turin (March 2003 and September 2004)

18. Arabic Hindi Portuguese Chinese Indonesian Romanian Czech Italian Russian French Japanese Spanish Lithuanian English Mongolian Suaheli Finnish German Norwegian Turkish Greek Polish Translations of R. 193

19. Seven Global meetings • ILO Governing Body members; • ICA regional directors; • 25 agencies involved in cooperative development; • Board meeting of the Committee on the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives; • Global cooperative research conference with 54 universities; • International Labour Conference 2003; • ICA General Assembly Oslo 2003.

20. 18 Regional Meetings

21. 28 National Meetings

22. 18 Advisory Missions

23. IV. How it can been used

24. A useful instrument • Cooperatives: to defend their autonomy; • Cooperative members: to demand good governance in cooperatives; • Governments: to revise cooperative polices and laws; • Civil society: to advocate policy changes; • Trade unions: to promote cooperatives among members; • Employers: to broaden outreach.

25. Revival of the cooperative concept in the ILO! Some results • Guinea-Bissau: new cooperative policy formalized; • Romania: autonomy of cooperatives maintained; • Turkey: right of workers to create consumer coops in large enterprises has been maintained; • South Africa: new cooperative policy and strategy developed; • Russia: parliamentary hearing on cooperative development organized on the basis of Rec. 193; • Canada (Québec): New cooperative development strategy makes explicit reference to Rec. 193; • Colombia: Rec. 193 incorporated into the national development plan.

26. Final word “Cooperatives empower people by enabling even the poorest segments of the population to participate in economic progress; they create job opportunities for those who have skills but little or no capital; and they provide protection by organizing mutual help in communities” “Cooperatives empower people by enabling even the poorest segments of the population to participate in economic progress; they create job opportunities for those who have skills but little or no capital; and they provide protection by organizing mutual help in communities”