Publications on Social and Solidarity Economy

Social Protection & Cooperatives Spotlight - Mobilizing social and solidarity economy units towards universal social protection

29 April 2022

This ILO Spotlight brief is jointly developed by the Social Protection Department and the Cooperatives Unit in the Enterprises Department. It focuses on mobilizing social and solidarity economy units towards universal social protection. The brief builds on the related section of the Office Report on “Decent work and the social and solidarity economy” prepared for general discussion at the International Labour Conference 110th Session, 2022 (paras 73 et seq.).

An ILO initiative on advancing the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives

29 November 2021

The ‘Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives’ were adopted at the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in October 2018, which were then approved by the Governing Body of the ILO in March 2019. The guidelines are a first step toward an international norm on statistics of cooperatives. This initiative envisages the evaluation of the information on the methods of collecting, organizing and analyzing statistical data on cooperatives in the light of the guidelines in five countries.

Cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy as vehicles to decent work in the culture and creative sector

28 October 2021

Recognizing the important role that the creative economy plays in social and economic progress, the UN General Assembly declared 2021 as the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. The culture and creative sector (CCS), includes music production, movies, theatres and radio broadcasting, with many artists in the sector working in informal and precarious arrangements. With the COVID-19 pandemic, existing vulnerabilities have been further exacerbated, calling for attention to socially innovative organizing and business models in CCS. Social and solidarity economy (SSE) units, including cooperatives, mutuals, associations, foundations and social enterprises, can provide value and principle based services and livelihoods options to CCS workers. In light of the upcoming general discussion on SSE for a human-centred future of work at the 110th Session of the International Labour Conference, this brief highlights how SSE units in the CCS can contribute to advancing rights at work, improving quality of jobs, ensuring access to social protection, and fostering local economic development

Platform labour in search of value: A study of workers’ organizing practices and business models in the digital economy - Executive Summary

07 September 2021

This report seeks to capture the new strategies being deployed by self-employed workers to reclaim their rights to decent work and a fair share of economic gains in the value networks of the emerging platform economy. Specifically, it focuses on the experiences of workers in on-demand work, crowdsourcing and e-commerce sectors.

Platform labour in search of value: A study of workers’ organizing practices and business models in the digital economy

30 June 2021

This report seeks to capture the new strategies being deployed by self-employed workers to reclaim their rights to decent work and a fair share of economic gains in the value networks of the emerging platform economy. Specifically, it focuses on the experiences of workers in on-demand work, crowdsourcing and e-commerce sectors.
World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2021

02 June 2021

In 2020, an estimated 8.8 per cent of total working hours were lost – the equivalent of the hours worked in one year by 255 million full-time workers. This summary indicator captures the various channels through which the pandemic has affected labour markets.

Statistics of Cooperatives: Concepts, classification, work and economic contribution measurements

12 November 2020

This book on statistics of cooperatives is a joint initiative of the International Labour Office (ILO), Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC) and the International Centre of Research and Information on Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC). It brings together updated versions of four background studies produced for the ILO and COPAC in the process leading up to the adoption of the Guidelines concerning statistics of cooperatives at the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in October 2018. Together with the guidelines, the book is intended to help statisticians to capture more information on key trends and challenges in the world of cooperatives. This publication is celebrated during the ILO COOP 100 Symposium.

UNTFSSE statement on “What role for the Social and Solidarity Economy in the post COVID-19 crisis recovery?”

23 June 2020

Produced by the members and observers of the UNTFSSE, the statement reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of the social and solidarity economy in post COVID-19 recovery.

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