Co-op News (August 2019)

EUROPE
In an uncertain future of work, co-ops
are the answer, Cecop tells the EU
• 15 member states have improved the
quality of their measures encouraging
registration of those unemployed;
• 12 have enhanced the quality
of measures for individual
assessments;
• long-term unemployment within
the EU fell from 5.2% in 2013 to 3.5%
in 2017;
• in more than half of public
employment services, the long-term
unemployed receive more tailored
assessments and guidance than
other groups;
• 17 member states have improved
the quality of their employment
measures;
• 14 member states have improved the
quality of their measures to increase
employer involvement.
The European confederation of industrial
and service co-ops (Cecop) has published
a paper highlighting the sector’s work to
tackle long-term unemployment.
Cecop said many of its member co-ops
work to integrate disadvantaged
groups – and not just by providing jobs.
Social co-ops in its network, such as
those in Italy, invest in training and
provide tailored jobs for people with
specific needs, including those with
disabilities or facing social exclusion.
Italy alone has around 4,000 social
co-ops that facilitate labour integration,
employing 60,000 people – 30% of them
disadvantaged workers.
And by joining a co-op, Cecop added,
employees can become worker owners
and have a stake in the business. Such
worker co-ops are often set up by workers
who have been made redundant.
The paper is a reaction to an evaluation
published by the European Commission
(EC) in April. In 2015, the EC proposed
a consultation to the Council of the
European Union, which included
government ministers from each EU
country, focusing on the provision of
services to the long-term unemployed. At
the time, Cecop responded with a reaction
paper detailing the work of co-ops.
The EC’s suggestions were later reflected
in a council recommendation on the
integration of the long-term unemployed,
published in February 2016.
This called on member states to
encourage registration of the longterm
unemployed with an employment
service, increase individualised support
and ensure delivery of a job-integration
agreement within 18 months. It also
suggests coordinating services through a
single point of contact and encouraging
the development of partnerships between
employers, social partners and services,
authorities and training providers.
In April 2019, the EC reported to the
Council on the state of play at member
state level. Since the adoption of the
recommendation, it said:
The evaluation also suggests ways to
strengthen implementation, including
intensifying employer involvement and
supporting the development of social
enterprises offering job opportunities.
In response, Cecop argued that while
the general trend was positive, figures
did not take into account the type and
duration of contracts of those formerly
unemployed who manage to secure jobs.
It welcomed the EC’s recommendation
to intensify the involvement of employers,
particularly by supporting social
enterprises, but added that the role of
co-ops and social economy enterprises
had not been specifically taken into
account in the evaluation framework.
Meanwhile, at Cecop’s 40th anniversary
conference in Manchester in June,
Liina Carr from European Trade Union
Confederation (Etuc) urged co-ops and
trade unions to work together to protect
workers in the gig economy.
Some studies predict 45%-60% of all
workers in Europe could see themselves
replaced by automation before 2030.
Etuc is campaigning to ensure that the
protections built in to traditional forms
of work are maintained in new ones.
With a new European Parliament and
Commission, Etuc will work with Cecop to
ensure the social dimension is taken into
account when the economy undergoes
the green transition. They are also
collaborating to make sure the European
Pillar of Social Rights is implemented.
u Cecop’s 40th anniversary: page 36-37
20 | AUGUST 2019