Thematic page on the cooperative, social and solidarity economy
SSE: Worker cooperatives
Worker cooperatives are emerging as an organizational model responding to the changes within the world of work. They have a specific democratic governance structure of member-worker-owners, where decisions are made by those directly involved in the enterprise. Any type of business can be worker-owned and controlled as a cooperative, and worker cooperatives can provide ways for organizing new forms of work with less dependence on the employer and increased flexibility and collaboration among workers. The ILO’s work on worker cooperatives looks into how they are being used as a response strategy to the changes in the world of work, including through union engagement, worker buyouts, cooperatives of freelancers, as well as cooperatives using online platforms.
2 July 2021
Related content
Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Juan Antonio Pedreño, the President of the Spanish Confederation of Social Economy Enterprises (CEPES), the President of Social Economy...
Cooperatives and the World of Work No. 15 - Partnerships between trade unions and the social and solidarity economy to support informal...
The relationship between workers’ organizations and cooperatives explored at the World Cooperative Congress
Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Antony McMullen, Cooperative Development Expert
The passage of the worker cooperative bill in Japan is celebrated around the word
ILO COOP participates in two sessions during a labour week organized by OSF for staff and a group of philanthropic donors
Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Brightly® – Scaling up worker cooperatives through the franchise model
ILO contributes to the deliberation on the alliance between unions and cooperatives in the US
ILO presents international trends on worker cooperative development at the 2019 Co-op IMPACT Conference in Washington
Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Siôn Whellens: Incubating worker cooperatives in the changing world of work
Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Centre for Co-operative Studies: Building a solid knowledge base on the cooperative business model
ILO’s participation in a public seminar on economic democracy and worker cooperatives in Ireland
Cooperatives can play key role in future of work
Advancing cooperation among women workers in the informal economy: The SEWA way
Advancing domestic workers’ rights through cooperatives in Trinidad and Tobago: An ILO, NUDE and SWCC initiative
A Zimbabwean trade union takes a first step towards establishing a worker cooperative for its unemployed members
Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators
Japan Workers’ Co-operative Union: Contributing to job creation and local community development through associated work
Spotlight Interviews with Cooperators
SEWA Cooperative Federation in India: Towards self-reliance
Job preservation through worker cooperatives: An overview of international experiences and strategies
International Journal of Labour Research
Trade unions and worker cooperatives: Where are we at?
The experience of SYNDICOOP in Africa: A model for trade union action?
Workers' cooperatives
Cooperatives today: Challenges and opportunities
Trade unions and worker cooperatives: Where are we at?
Worker Cooperatives as a Response to the Crisis: by Pierre Laliberté
Social Finance Working Paper #55: ROKIN Bank
Let’s organize! : a SYNDICOOP handbook for trade unions and cooperatives about organizing workers in the informal economy