Resources on cooperatives

  1. ILO and cooperatives raise awareness, promote labour rights on farms in Jordan

    24 November 2021

    The ILO and a number of agricultural cooperatives are working together to ensure that workers are well informed of their rights and responsibilities at work through awareness raising sessions held on farms.

  2. Worker Cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE)

    02 July 2021

    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.

  3. How can individuals act to eliminate child labour in their communities?

    04 June 2021

    We children and youth of today, need to be well educated, we need to dream, we need to be healthy so that we can good leaders tomorrow, and all this is only possible if you, our dear parents, allow us to do so.

  4. Journalists have a key role to play in the collective effort to eliminate child labour

    04 June 2021

    Through the Accel Africa Reporting on child labour in Africa course, learners are introduced to a number of different issues, including international labour standards, ethical reporting of child-related information, or collecting testimonies from vulnerable sources of information. They also learn about the relevant context of child labour in agricultural supply chains, such as in the tobacco, cotton or cocoa industries.

  5. Interactions between Workers’ Organizations and Workers in the Informal Economy: A Compendium of Practice

    30 January 2020

    A compilation of concrete examples, drawn from around the world, showing how trade unions have sought to reach out to workers in the informal economy to reduce the decent work deficits they face and support their transition to formality.

  6. Waste pickers’ cooperatives and social and solidarity economy organizations

    20 August 2019

    Waste pickers make significant contributions to public health, sanitation, and the environment by promoting resource circulation and reducing the amount of landfill. However, they are often not legally recognized as workers and suffer from poor working conditions and lack of social protection. This brief highlights the role of waste pickers' cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy organizations (SSEOs) in integrating and formalizing the work of waste pickers in the recycling value chain and improving their working conditions.

  7. Anna Biondi: The role of cooperatives for decent work

    25 July 2019

    Anna Biondi, Deputy Director of the ILO Bureau for Workers Activities (ACTRAV) reflects on the historical collaboration between the ILO and the cooperative movement and on the challenges and opportunities for cooperative enterprises in advancing decent work for all.

  8. Cooperatives and the ready-made garment supply chain

    25 January 2019

    Although the contribution of cooperatives in the garment sector has not been quantified, cooperatives of all sizes operate along the garment supply chain including in agriculture, textile and apparel production, retail and supporting functions. Most garment production and manufacturing sites are located in developing countries. For the purpose of this brief, we will refer to three types of cooperatives, according to the type of members: producers, workers and users.

  9. Cooperating out of HIV and AIDS

    13 November 2013

    After more than 30 years of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, “the world has turned the corner – it has halted and begun to reverse the spread of HIV”. HIV is no longer a death sentence; due to scientific and medical advances, effective treatment is available for managing HIV just as any other chronic health condition.

  10. Cooperatives offer migrant workers options for better lives

    19 September 2013

    Cooperative enterprises have improved the lives of women and men migrant workers and their families for decades. Migrants find income and jobs, access affordable goods and services and find empowerment through cooperative enterprises, participating in the cooperative movement. Moreover, cooperative enterprises are facilitating economic, social and cultural integration or re-integration of migrant workers in both destination and home countries.