Co-op News August 2022
The August edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at how co-ops can help – and engage with – youth to ensure a better world for future generations, including a look at the National Youth Summit, organised by Co-operatives UK to follow up its report on challenges facing young people in Britain. We also hear from the Co-op Foundation and Woodcraft Folk about how they are supporting young people. Plus coverage of some key events in the co-op calendar – the Playground for the New Economy Festival, organised by Stir to Action, and the World Credit Union Conference.
The August edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at how co-ops can help – and engage with – youth to ensure a better world for future generations, including a look at the National Youth Summit, organised by Co-operatives UK to follow up its report on challenges facing young people in Britain. We also hear from the Co-op Foundation and Woodcraft Folk about how they are supporting young people. Plus coverage of some key events in the co-op calendar – the Playground for the New Economy Festival, organised by Stir to Action, and the World Credit Union Conference.
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AUGUST <strong>2022</strong><br />
CO-OPS AND THE<br />
HOPE FOR FUTURE<br />
GENERATIONS<br />
Plus … Reports from the<br />
World Credit Union <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
and Playground for the New<br />
Economy Festival ... the Future<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Banking ...<br />
Interview with Woodcraft<br />
Folk’s Debs McCahon<br />
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
770009 982010<br />
01<br />
£4.20<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong>
The <strong>2022</strong> <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Press<br />
Annual General Meeting<br />
We will be convening a virtual AGM in <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
Please note that the <strong>2022</strong> <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> AGM, originally scheduled for 6-7.30pm on<br />
Monday 25 July has been postponed and will now take place on<br />
Monday 22 <strong>August</strong> at 7-8.30pm.<br />
This is due to covid-related delays to our auditing process, and the passing away<br />
of our of our Treasurer.<br />
The notice of the final Agenda and the Annual Accounts sent out to members<br />
and made available online on Monday 8 <strong>August</strong><br />
For further updates on the AGM, please visit www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong>/AGM<strong>2022</strong><br />
If you have any queries regarding the AGM, please email<br />
Richard Bickle: secretary@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
Rebecca Harvey: rebecca@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
The Secretary<br />
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Future generations and the quest<br />
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CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND<br />
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The UN’s International Youth Day <strong>2022</strong> is being celebrated on 12 <strong>August</strong><br />
under the theme Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages.<br />
“To achieve the Sustainable Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Goals (SDGs), the world needs<br />
to leverage the full potential of all generations,” says the UN. “Solidarity<br />
across generations is key for sustainable devel<strong>op</strong>ment. We must<br />
collaborate to foster successful and equitable intergenerational relations<br />
and partnerships to ensure ‘no one is left behind’.”<br />
Sustainability, collaboration and equity are all familiar terms to co<strong>op</strong>eratives,<br />
and discussions around intergenerational activity are taking<br />
place around the world as young pe<strong>op</strong>le grapple with economic, social<br />
and environmental challenges. At the end of last year, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK<br />
looked further into these emerging issues – and last month<br />
consolidated its research with a National Youth Summit in Manchester<br />
(p26-27) and a report (p28-29) highlighting both the biggest challenges –<br />
and how co-<strong>op</strong>s can offer h<strong>op</strong>e.<br />
This issue we also speak with Debs McCahon, CEO of the Woodcraft<br />
Folk (p22-23) and Nick Crofts, CEO of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation (p30-31)<br />
about how their organisations are enabling young pe<strong>op</strong>le through co<strong>op</strong>eration,<br />
and Anca Voinea shares her experience of visiting youth co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
in Andalusia (p32-33).<br />
One of the many challenges right now is the economy – but co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
are active here, too. July saw the World Credit Union <strong>Co</strong>nference (p36-39)<br />
and the Playground for the New Economy Festival (p34-35) discus new<br />
ways of working in global and local economies – and we also hear more<br />
about the campaign to bring the union co-<strong>op</strong> model to the UK (p44-45),<br />
efforts to building a co-<strong>op</strong>erative banking system in the country (p40-41),<br />
and why US credit unions are ramping up bank acquisitions (p42-43).<br />
Creating a world for all ages, requires new ways of thinking and working<br />
in the world, but as Tom Carman said at the Playground festival, the new<br />
economy is also about trust: “It’s about building structures, processes and<br />
a culture where we all trust one another. It’s about trust – and kindness.”<br />
REBECCA HARVEY - EXECUTIVE EDITOR<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong> is printed using vegetable oil-based inks<br />
on 80% recycled paper (with 60% from post-consumer waste)<br />
with the remaining 20% produced from FSC or PEFC certified<br />
sources. It is made in a totally chlorine free process.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 3
ISSN 0009-9821<br />
9 770009 982010<br />
01<br />
THIS ISSUE<br />
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:<br />
Tony Greenham at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
(p40-41); The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Youth Summit<br />
(p26-27); Elissa McCarter Laborde, CEO of<br />
the World <strong>Co</strong>uncil of Credit Unions<br />
(p36-39); Playground for the New Economy<br />
Festival (p34-35); Debs McCahon (p22-23)<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong><br />
CO-OPS AND THE<br />
HOPE FOR FUTURE<br />
GENERATIONS<br />
Plus … Reports from the<br />
World Credit Union <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
and Playground for the New<br />
Economy Festival ... the Future<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Banking ...<br />
Interview with Woodcraft<br />
Folk’s Debs McCahon<br />
£4.20<br />
www.thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
COVER: FUTURE GENERATIONS<br />
Graphic design graduate Fabio Cawley<br />
from Chapel Street Studio, a co-<strong>op</strong> of<br />
freelance creatives based in Bradford<br />
is one of the case studies presented<br />
in a new report from <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK<br />
looking at how co-<strong>op</strong>s offer h<strong>op</strong>e to<br />
future generations<br />
(Image: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK)<br />
Read more: p28-29<br />
22-23 MEET ... DEBS MCCAHON<br />
CEO of the Woodcraft Folk<br />
26-33 CO-OPS AND THE FUTURE<br />
GENERATIONS<br />
26-27 CO-OP YOUTH SUMMIT<br />
Building better alternatives through<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
28-29 FUTURE GENERATIONS REPORT<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s UK’s new report look at values-led<br />
solutions to modern challenges<br />
30-31 INTERVIEW: NICK CROFTS<br />
The CEO of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation on how<br />
it’s building support for young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
32-33 ANDALUSIAN CO-OPERATIVES<br />
How is the region in southern Spain<br />
shaping current and future leaders?<br />
34-45 NEW THINKING FOR NEW<br />
ECONOMICS<br />
34-35 PLAYGROUND FOR THE NEW<br />
ECONOMY<br />
Report from Stir to Action’s festival of<br />
ideas<br />
36-39 WORLD CREDIT UNION<br />
CONFERENCE<br />
The annual event was hosted by the<br />
Woccu and Abcul in Glasgow<br />
40-41 THE CAPITAL CONUNDRUM The<br />
efforts to build a co-<strong>op</strong>erative banking<br />
system in the UK<br />
42-43 BUYING TO GET BIG<br />
Why are US credit unions ramping up<br />
bank acquisitions?<br />
44-45 UNION CO-OPS Q&A<br />
The campaign to bring the union co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model to the UK<br />
46-47 GLOBAL INNOVATION SUMMIT The<br />
<strong>2022</strong> edition will look at the transitions<br />
needed to tackle new challenges<br />
REGULARS<br />
5-13 UK news<br />
14-21 Global news<br />
22-23 Meet<br />
24 Letters<br />
25<br />
50<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mment<br />
Events<br />
4 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
NEWS<br />
RETAIL<br />
UK co-<strong>op</strong>s launch international trading devel<strong>op</strong>ment fund<br />
Central England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has launched an<br />
international devel<strong>op</strong>ment fund to help<br />
communities around the world devel<strong>op</strong><br />
trading <strong>op</strong>portunities.<br />
Announced on the International Day<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives (2 July), the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
International Trading Devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
Fund will be led by Central England<br />
in collaboration with the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
<strong>Co</strong>llege and will initially focus on Malawi.<br />
A range of products from suppliers with<br />
trading or product links to Malawi are now<br />
available to buy from Central England’s<br />
more than 260 stores. The fund will also<br />
be supported from sales of the existing<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Fairtrade range.<br />
Central England’s in-store product<br />
displays will feature Malawi-inspired<br />
artwork produced by Creative <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>,<br />
and products will include tea sold under<br />
the Revolver <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> brand, sourced from<br />
Msuwadzi – a smallholder tea association<br />
in the south of Malawi; Kilombero rice,<br />
supplied by JTS; and macadamia nuts<br />
supplied by NutCellars – all sourced from<br />
smallholder farms.<br />
Funds from the product sales will<br />
support work plans created from focus<br />
groups carried out with Malawian co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
– which identified priorities including<br />
climate change mitigation and help with<br />
gaining Fairtrade certification.<br />
And a programme of support on the<br />
ground is being devel<strong>op</strong>ed with the help<br />
of the <strong>Co</strong>llege and the Malawi Federation<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives (Mafeco) to improve<br />
trading capacity.<br />
Central England CEO Debbie Robinson<br />
said: “As we celebrate the International<br />
Day of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives it’s a perfect time<br />
to launch the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative International<br />
Trading Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Fund and its very<br />
first initiative – Our Malawi Partnership.<br />
“I visited Malawi many years ago whilst<br />
doing work on Fairtrade and promised the<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le I met there that we’d do more.<br />
“A co-<strong>op</strong>erative principle has always<br />
been to focus on devel<strong>op</strong>ing sustainable<br />
initiatives that strengthen community<br />
livelihoods and we’re so excited to be<br />
working with our partners, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>llege<br />
and Mafeco, to use this fund to make a<br />
real difference on the ground in Malawi.<br />
“By buying from the special range of<br />
new products landing in our stores to<br />
mark the launch, as well as our existing<br />
Fairtrade range, contributions will be<br />
made to a truly transformative initiative<br />
that will help to move communities out<br />
of poverty.”<br />
Dr Sarah Alldred, head of International<br />
Partnerships at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>llege, said:<br />
“I’ve always felt extremely welcome in<br />
Malawi and the pe<strong>op</strong>le I’ve met have been<br />
keen to share their stories and h<strong>op</strong>es for<br />
the future.<br />
“The smallholder farmers I spoke<br />
with are all at different stages of their<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative journey. Some are just now<br />
joining a co-<strong>op</strong>erative and others have<br />
worked with Mafeco for years, but all of<br />
them are enthusiastic about the benefits<br />
that co-<strong>op</strong>erative working can bring to<br />
them, their families, and their wider<br />
communities.<br />
“The Malawi Partnership is a fantastic<br />
working example of Principle Six –<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration among co-<strong>op</strong>eratives. It<br />
facilitates the sharing of knowledge and<br />
resources and most importantly it will<br />
allow smallholder farmers to improve<br />
their livelihoods for generations to come.<br />
“We’re excited that the <strong>Co</strong>llege’s<br />
long track record in international co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment, and our unique<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative learning approach is helping<br />
to facilitate such an impactful project.”<br />
Paul Birch, CEO of Revolver <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, one<br />
of the suppliers supporting the initiative,<br />
said: “Malawi relies on tobacco for<br />
70% of its farming cash cr<strong>op</strong>s. Moving<br />
agriculture to a sustainable co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
model, promoting co-<strong>op</strong> values, reflecting<br />
international Fairtrade standards and<br />
switching production to cr<strong>op</strong>s that can<br />
both be consumed locally and exported,<br />
are at the centre of the alliance between<br />
Central England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>llege and<br />
Revolver <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>.<br />
“Only through refocusing Malawi<br />
agriculture towards the sustainable<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment goals can we help transform<br />
Malawi’s economy and benefit its pe<strong>op</strong>le.”<br />
Tracy Mitchell, from JTS, suppliers<br />
of Kilombero Rice, said: “We are really<br />
pleased to be part of this exciting<br />
project to support co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and<br />
farmers’ associations in Malawi – and<br />
we are thrilled that our award-winning<br />
Kilombero rice will be available to Central<br />
England customers.<br />
“Not only does the rice taste great<br />
– and we’ve got Great Taste Awards to<br />
prove it – but it also delivers a significant<br />
difference to the growers, an association<br />
of smallholder farmers in the northern<br />
part of the country.<br />
“Being part of this initiative will<br />
enhance the farmer associations’ ability to<br />
strengthen community livelihoods as they<br />
seek to bring the poorest out of poverty.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 5
ENVIRONMENT<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation’s Carbon Innovation Fund partners announced<br />
A co-<strong>op</strong>erative fishery and an<br />
urban farming co-<strong>op</strong> are among the<br />
environmental initiatives granted funding<br />
from the Carbon Innovation Fund.<br />
The fund, a partnership between<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group and its charity, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Foundation, will shares £3m among<br />
projects tackling carbon emissions over<br />
the next three years.<br />
So far, 14 projects have been awarded a<br />
combined £1.3m. Recipients include Fal<br />
Fishery <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, which produces carbonabsorbing<br />
oyster larvae at its hatchery in<br />
<strong>Co</strong>rnwall, and Edinburgh Agroecology <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>,<br />
which is creating a local community<br />
farm to show how land in urban centres<br />
can benefit pe<strong>op</strong>le and the environment.<br />
The Fairtrade Foundation in Mbarara<br />
and Masaka has also been granted<br />
funding for its work producing briquettes<br />
from used coffee grounds, which can be<br />
used as fuel for cooking stoves.<br />
The Carbon Innovation Fund is part of<br />
the Group’s plan, announced last year, to<br />
become a Net Zero business by 2040.<br />
Verity Warnecke, head of climate<br />
change at the Group, said: “It’s this type of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration which is needed across the<br />
world to help accelerate our response to<br />
the climate crisis if we are going to have a<br />
natural environment which we are proud<br />
to pass on to future generations.”<br />
The fund is supported in part through<br />
the sale of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>’s compostable carrier<br />
bags, with the remainder coming from<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation’s own funds. It is<br />
the largest partnership of its kind between<br />
the retailer and its charity.<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation’s CEO, Nick<br />
Crofts, said: “We created the fund to<br />
encourage innovation and help tackle<br />
emissions in the food and farming<br />
industries – and what an incredible first<br />
14 projects we’re funding. From <strong>Co</strong>rnwall<br />
to Malawi, we’re working with our new<br />
partners to create sustainable change and<br />
devel<strong>op</strong> inventive solutions to complex<br />
issues. We cannot wait to see what our<br />
partners achieve as they co-<strong>op</strong>erate to<br />
make our world a better place to live.”<br />
Interview with Nick Crofts, p30-31<br />
POLITICS<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party welcomes Labour shift to community-led levelling up<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party has given an enthusiastic<br />
welcome to a “substantial shift” in<br />
policy by its sister party Labour, with<br />
shadow levelling up secretary Lisa<br />
Nandy announcing a new emphasis on<br />
community ownership.<br />
In a speech on 18 July, Nandy said<br />
a Labour government would bring<br />
in a community right to buy, giving<br />
“communities the <strong>op</strong>portunity to take<br />
control of pubs, historic buildings and<br />
football clubs that come up for sale or fall<br />
into disrepair”.<br />
She added that Mark Gregory, former<br />
chief economist of Ernst & Young, will<br />
lead a commission to explore how<br />
community groups can best leverage<br />
private investment to buy assets, how a<br />
fund can best support communities and<br />
what safeguards need to be put in place.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party campaigns officer James<br />
Butler said Nandy had pr<strong>op</strong>osed “a<br />
p Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy<br />
radical alternative to the <strong>Co</strong>nservatives’<br />
increasingly insipid-looking levelling<br />
up agenda, and her vision is largely a<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative one”.<br />
He added: “Through our campaigns<br />
and policy work, we have highlighted the<br />
great work that is going on around the<br />
country by co-<strong>op</strong>erators in communities<br />
and on councils. Lisa Nandy is promising<br />
that she will put rocket boosters under<br />
what has been achieved.”<br />
Butler noted that the plans would give<br />
communities first refusal on assets of<br />
community value, on long-term vacant<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>erty, and the right to buy them without<br />
competition. The current statutory six<br />
months allowed to communities to raise<br />
funds would be doubled to a year.<br />
“A Labour and <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative government<br />
would also reform compulsory purchase<br />
orders to allow communities to bring<br />
public buildings into use,” he said.<br />
In her speech, given at the Forum,<br />
a community-owned music venue in<br />
Darlington, Nandy called for a “new<br />
approach to government”, arguing that<br />
“a centralised, remote, bureaucratic state<br />
has turned devolution into a circus, with<br />
mayors and council leaders competing for<br />
crumbs and so often, pe<strong>op</strong>le and places<br />
cut out of the conversation”.<br />
6 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
CREDIT UNIONS<br />
Treasury minister and credit union reformer John<br />
Glen resigns from government<br />
The wave of ministerial resignations<br />
prompted by the Chris Pincher scandal,<br />
which ended Boris Johnson’s premiership,<br />
includes John Glen who, as economic<br />
secretary to the treasury, was working<br />
closely with the credit union sector.<br />
Glen had held the role since 2018, a<br />
long tenure which meant his department<br />
avoided the problem of ministerial<br />
churn – where frequent changes at the<br />
t<strong>op</strong> prevents ministers from devel<strong>op</strong>ing<br />
expertise, hampers consistent long-term<br />
policy making and makes it harder for<br />
businesses and other stakeholders to build<br />
relationships with department heads.<br />
He had also been working on a series of<br />
reforms which had been welcomed by the<br />
sector, and announced his plans at May’s<br />
annual conference by the Association<br />
of British Credit Unions (Abcul). These<br />
included governance reforms and a<br />
lending shake-up that will allow credit<br />
unions to offer automobile loans for the<br />
first time.<br />
In his resignation letter to Johnson,<br />
Glen said: “I can no longer reconcile my<br />
commitment to the role and to the financial<br />
services sector with the complete lack<br />
of confidence I have in your continuing<br />
leadership of our country”.<br />
His credit union plans are part of<br />
a wider set of reforms for the finance<br />
sector. “Those reforms are now ready<br />
to be presented to parliament, and they<br />
represent a fundamental reset of the<br />
regulatory framework for the industry and<br />
consumers,” Glen said in his letter.<br />
Responding to the news of his<br />
resignation, Abcul CEO Robert Kelly<br />
said Glen’s reforms would “enable credit<br />
unions to expand the range of affordable<br />
products and services that they offer to<br />
members across the country”.<br />
He added: “John Glen has reiterated<br />
earlier today in his resignation that<br />
financial services reforms are ready to<br />
be presented to parliament and we are<br />
confident credit union content will form<br />
part of that wide agenda.<br />
“Abcul will continue to liaise with HM<br />
Treasury in a pro-active basis to monitor<br />
progress on the days and weeks ahead.<br />
p John Glen announces a set of reforms at<br />
this year’s Abcul conference<br />
Abcul would like to sincerely thank John<br />
Glen for his dedication to the credit union<br />
sector during his tenure as EST and his<br />
constant willingness to engage.<br />
“Everyone at the association wishes<br />
him well in his future endeavours.”<br />
Kelly said communities across the<br />
UK continue to struggle against “a<br />
generational cost of living crisis”.<br />
“Credit unions will continue to serve<br />
communities and employers in these<br />
testing times,” he added, “through the<br />
provision of ethical and responsible<br />
products and services – our mantra of<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le helping pe<strong>op</strong>le will continue to be<br />
the bedrock of everything we do.”<br />
AGRICULTURE<br />
Dairy co-<strong>op</strong> Arla warns UK labour shortage will hit food production<br />
UK dairy co-<strong>op</strong> Arla Foods warns that a<br />
chronic shortage of farm workers is hitting<br />
dairy production and forcing up prices.<br />
It says the situation will worsen<br />
unless action is taken and calls on the<br />
government and agriculture industry to do<br />
more to attract talent to the sector.<br />
A survey in May of 541 of Arla’s 2,100 UK<br />
farmer-owners found that 80% of farmers<br />
looking for workers have received ‘very<br />
few’ or ‘zero’ applications from pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
with the right experience or qualifications.<br />
Brexit ending the free movement of EU<br />
workers and the aftermath of <strong>Co</strong>vid-19<br />
are among factors behind the problem,<br />
says Arla, with more than three-fifths<br />
(61.3%) of farmers finding it more difficult<br />
to recruit now than in 2019. Production<br />
is already affected, the co-<strong>op</strong> adds, with<br />
volumes down 3% on last year.<br />
The survey also finds that a small<br />
but significant number of farmers have<br />
already responded by cutting the number<br />
Image: GettyImages<br />
of milkings (4.3%) and/or reducing the<br />
size of their herd (6.0%). Many more say<br />
they will take these steps (6.9% and 6.8%<br />
respectively) or leave farming altogether<br />
(11.9%) in the next year if nothing changes.<br />
Arla, which has called for specialist<br />
roles like herd manager to be added to<br />
the Shortage Occupation List, is engaging<br />
with the new Institute of Agriculture and<br />
Horticulture on the problem.<br />
It has welcomed the focus on improved<br />
skills and qualifications for farm workers,<br />
as well as recruitment, but says more<br />
government action is needed.<br />
UK managing director Ash Amirahmadi<br />
said: “Addressing the labour shortage<br />
and the implications for food security<br />
is vital. Now is the time for all of us,<br />
across government and industry, to work<br />
urgently and collaboratively.<br />
“That’s why I’ve written to the secretary<br />
of state calling on him to accelerate the<br />
review of the labour market promised<br />
in the Food Strategy White Paper and<br />
to commit to a new cross-departmental<br />
strategy to bring talent into food and<br />
farming, making it a career of choice for<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le from all backgrounds. This will<br />
need to include on-farm training, but<br />
also address teaching in schools, careers<br />
advice, support for pe<strong>op</strong>le wanting to<br />
change career, and a marketing campaign<br />
promoting careers in our industry.<br />
“If we don’t act now the current<br />
shortages of pe<strong>op</strong>le will only get worse,<br />
undermining our food security and further<br />
fuelling higher prices for consumers.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 7
RETAIL<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group launches social mobility impact report<br />
The UK’s <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group has launched a<br />
Levelling Up Impact Report to assess its<br />
impact on levelling up across the country<br />
and recommend future action.<br />
The report was devel<strong>op</strong>ed in<br />
partnership with the Purpose <strong>Co</strong>alition<br />
and benchmarks the organisation’s work<br />
against the UK’s Levelling Up Goals.<br />
The goals were established by former<br />
government minister Justine Greening<br />
in 2021, with input from businesses,<br />
universities and policymakers. Devel<strong>op</strong>ed<br />
from the UN’s Sustainable Devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
Goals, they are designed to tackle the<br />
challenges facing the UK after <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 by<br />
providing a framework for organisations<br />
to identify gaps in access to <strong>op</strong>portunity<br />
(covering key life stages from early years<br />
to adulthood) and the main areas where<br />
barriers exist that prevent pe<strong>op</strong>le from<br />
achieving their potential.<br />
The report, presented at the House<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>mmons on 5 July by the Group’s<br />
CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq and public<br />
affairs director Paul Gerrard, highlights<br />
the retailer’s commitment to delivering<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunity countrywide.<br />
“It is vital that business and government<br />
work in partnership to unlock the talent<br />
that exists everywhere,” said Khoury-<br />
Haq. “We must ensure everyone, whatever<br />
their background, has the <strong>op</strong>portunity to<br />
succeed in a way that is right for them.<br />
I’m delighted that the impact the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
is already having in communities has<br />
been recognised in this report but we also<br />
know there is much more [we] and other<br />
businesses, should do.”<br />
The report explores the Group’s<br />
work across all 14 goals, but highlights<br />
particular achievements against Goal 2<br />
(Successful school years), Goal 3 (Positive<br />
destinations post-16+), Goal 4 (Right<br />
advice and experiences), Goal 8 (Good<br />
health and wellbeing), Goal 10 (Closing the<br />
digital divide) and Goal 11 (Infrastructure<br />
for <strong>op</strong>portunity).<br />
Examples of best practices include<br />
the schools in the organisation’s multiacademy<br />
trust, which are all guided by the<br />
same set of principles but are tailored to the<br />
needs of pupils in specific areas; its Local<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity Fund supporting community<br />
projects chosen by the co-<strong>op</strong>erative’s<br />
members; and its Apprenticeship Levy<br />
Share service, which enables businesses<br />
across England to pledge their unspent<br />
levy, which would have otherwise expired.<br />
The report makes a number of<br />
recommendations for further action where<br />
the Group can extend its work, building on<br />
its existing reputation and countrywide<br />
reach. This includes setting higher<br />
standards on issues such as diversity and<br />
p The report benchmarks the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group’s<br />
work against the UK’s Levelling Up Goals<br />
socio-economic reporting which could<br />
also be extended to its supply chain;<br />
enabling a more effective transition from<br />
education to work; supporting schools in<br />
social mobility cold spots; and promoting<br />
positive mental health and wellbeing and<br />
better physical health through healthier<br />
and sustainable diets.<br />
“I want the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> to be part of a<br />
movement for change and a catalyst for<br />
that change,” added Khoury-Haq. “That’s<br />
why we’re delighted to be working with<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group partners<br />
with UK Youth for social<br />
action in Scotland and<br />
Northern Ireland<br />
A new partnership between the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Group and UK Youth will offer young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le in Scotland and Northern Ireland<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities to make a difference through<br />
social action in local communities through<br />
the #iwill movement.<br />
The #iwill movement is a collaboration<br />
of over 1,000 organisations and 700 young<br />
#iwill ambassadors & champions from<br />
across the UK, supported by charities UK<br />
Youth and Volunteering Matters.<br />
The Group is partnering with UK Youth<br />
to grow the #IWillScotland and the #iwill<br />
movement in Northern Ireland, working<br />
with YouthLink Scotland and Volunteer<br />
Now in Northern Ireland. Its £250,000<br />
investment, funded by members through<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Partnerships<br />
Fund, will be used to recruit, train and<br />
support new #iwill ambassadors across<br />
the nations. The 10-25 year-olds will work<br />
together to make a difference in their<br />
communities through social action.<br />
Ambassadors will receive training and<br />
mentoring, enabling them to drive change<br />
at a local, national and UK-wide level.<br />
In addition, 150 new #iwill champions<br />
will be recruited, who will help spread<br />
the word and devel<strong>op</strong> their own social<br />
action initiatives. More than 2,000 young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le in Scotland and Northern Ireland<br />
are expected to benefit from the Group’s<br />
investment in #iwill.<br />
The Group says social action can have a<br />
life changing impact on young pe<strong>op</strong>le and<br />
their communities, helping them devel<strong>op</strong><br />
essential personal and social skills such<br />
as self-confidence, resilience, leadership<br />
and motivation. Director of community<br />
and membership Rebecca Birkbeck said:<br />
“Creating fairer <strong>op</strong>portunities for young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le to take action on the issues they<br />
care about is crucial in empowering<br />
8 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
This is Purpose, to lead by example and<br />
show how purpose-led businesses can<br />
pave the way. I’m pleased to announce<br />
that the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> will join the new Equality of<br />
Opportunity <strong>Co</strong>alition and we’ve already<br />
started work to explore what we can do to<br />
promote socio-economic diversity within<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>. We commit to share our insight<br />
and next steps in early 2023.”<br />
Jim McMahon MP, chair of the <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Party and shadow secretary<br />
of state for environment, food and<br />
rural affairs, acknowledged the role the<br />
Group has played in tackling inequality,<br />
supporting aspiration and promoting<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunity across the country.<br />
“I am delighted to welcome this report<br />
from the Purpose <strong>Co</strong>alition, measuring the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>’s activity against the 14 Levelling<br />
Up Goals and setting out how it can go<br />
even further to boost social mobility and<br />
improve equality of <strong>op</strong>portunity,” he said.<br />
Chair of the Purpose <strong>Co</strong>alition, Justine<br />
Greening, said that making a positive<br />
impact and creating a fairer society “is in<br />
[the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group’s] DNA”.<br />
She added: “[The Group] is already<br />
doing outstanding work across the<br />
country but its extensive reach and brand<br />
recognition means that it has the potential<br />
to do even more and, crucially, set a<br />
gold standard for what it means to be a<br />
purpose-led business.<br />
“The economic and social challenges<br />
that the country is currently facing –<br />
p <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group CEO Shirine Khoury Haq (2nd left) and public affairs director Paul Gerrard (right)<br />
launched the report at the House of <strong>Co</strong>mmons with colleagues Lorna Jones and Ali Scowen<br />
(Image: <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group)<br />
our recovery from the pandemic and the<br />
growing pressures of the cost of living<br />
crisis – means that the role it can play on<br />
delivering social good has never been more<br />
important. The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> gets to the heart of<br />
what matters most in a community. Its<br />
deep knowledge of those it serves enables<br />
it to understand what they really need to<br />
thrive and their local partnerships help to<br />
deliver it. The synergy between business<br />
and community is mutually beneficial<br />
– the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> can focus its efforts on<br />
those who need the most help and,<br />
in return, communities receive welltargeted<br />
and tailored support that is<br />
better placed to make a difference.<br />
“Measuring an organisation’s progress<br />
on how it is levelling up is key. It’s how<br />
things get done. As a leading member of<br />
the Equality of Opportunity <strong>Co</strong>alition, the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has committed to measuring and<br />
reporting the socio-economic background<br />
of their employees as part of its wider<br />
efforts to ensure that everyone has access<br />
to <strong>op</strong>portunity, regardless of background<br />
or where they are from. It is setting an<br />
example that I h<strong>op</strong>e other businesses<br />
will follow and I am looking forward to<br />
working with its leadership team to help<br />
shape the levelling up agenda.”<br />
them to make a real difference in local<br />
communities throughout Scotland and<br />
Northern Ireland.<br />
“We are delighted to be partnering with<br />
UK Youth to grow the #iwill movement<br />
so that even more young pe<strong>op</strong>le can<br />
access support and make positive<br />
change, whether that’s supporting<br />
fairer access to food, improving mental<br />
wellbeing services, or creating even more<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities for young pe<strong>op</strong>le to get<br />
involved in their communities.”<br />
Denise Hayward, CEO of Volunteer Now,<br />
said: “Volunteer Now is delighted to have<br />
the support of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> to devel<strong>op</strong> a peer<br />
network of young pe<strong>op</strong>le who are taking<br />
action in their communities”<br />
“We know that peer encouragement<br />
to become involved in social action is<br />
important for young pe<strong>op</strong>le. We also<br />
know that volunteering and social action<br />
makes a difference to the lives of others<br />
and themselves. Our present ambassadors<br />
are a diverse range of amazing young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le and we look forward to supporting<br />
more ambassadors and champions<br />
within Northern Ireland and witnessing<br />
the positive change that they will make<br />
through the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>’s support.”<br />
Tim Hancock, #iwill ambassador in<br />
Northern Ireland, said: “I’m thrilled with<br />
the support of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>! As one of the<br />
1st #iwill ambassadors in NI I know how<br />
important it is to have peer support, to be<br />
part of something local but also to have<br />
the network and <strong>op</strong>portunities that come<br />
from being part of a UK movement. I’m<br />
looking forward to volunteering alongside<br />
the local <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> branches and being part of<br />
the journey for the year ahead.”<br />
Cian Gullen, co-chair of the Scottish<br />
#iwill Advisory Group & 2016 #iwill<br />
Scotland ambassador, said: “This funding<br />
from the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is so valuable to the #Iwill<br />
movement in Scotland. It really helps us,<br />
as young #Iwill Ambassadors, to grow<br />
the #PowerOfYouth across the nation and<br />
reach even more young pe<strong>op</strong>le who want<br />
to create change in their communities.”<br />
Tim Frew, CEO, YouthLink Scotland,<br />
added: “We are delighted with this new<br />
funding from the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> and to work<br />
alongside UK Youth and our partners in<br />
Northern Ireland and Scotland on this<br />
exciting new chapter for #iwill.<br />
“It’s vital we do all we can to channel<br />
the talent and energy of our young pe<strong>op</strong>le,<br />
and encouraging them to volunteer is<br />
a great way to do this. Not only does<br />
it benefit their local communities, it<br />
empowers young pe<strong>op</strong>le to make lasting<br />
change in their lives and the lives of others<br />
and devel<strong>op</strong> skills for life.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 9
p CEO Don Morris at the soon-to-be-demolished Radco site and (left) architects’ images of the pr<strong>op</strong>osed new devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
RETAIL<br />
Radstock <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> makes progress on town centre devel<strong>op</strong>ment plans<br />
Somerset-based retailer Radstock <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
has announced updates on its<br />
ambitious plans to redevel<strong>op</strong> the site of its<br />
former Radco Superstore, which closed in<br />
<strong>August</strong> 2020.<br />
Since then, the society has been working<br />
closely with Bath & North East Somerset<br />
(Banes) <strong>Co</strong>uncil planners to complete all<br />
pre-planning commencement conditions<br />
–with progress slowed by the pandemic.<br />
CEO Don Morris said: “It’s been a longtime<br />
coming, but I’m truly delighted to<br />
announce the last pre-commencement<br />
condition has been passed.”<br />
He said this meant the society could<br />
move ahead with the demolition of the<br />
site, which is scheduled to take place this<br />
summer. “It’s not only great news for the<br />
society but also fantastic news for the<br />
town,” he added.<br />
The approved plans for the site, which<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> has drawn up alongside<br />
planning,urban design and devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
consultants Origin 3, include a modern<br />
store and other retail units, offices and 28<br />
apartments in two mixed-use buildings. In<br />
addition, outline planning has also been<br />
approved for the construction of 26 new<br />
homes on part of the existing car park.<br />
Nikki D’Ovidio, PR and communications<br />
specialist at the society, said co-<strong>op</strong><br />
members and the local community “have<br />
been an integral part of the planning<br />
process – included in every step from<br />
conception to the final plans.<br />
“Their feedback has been incorporated<br />
and changed the original plans from<br />
an uber-modern building to a more<br />
traditional design, with the new building<br />
gently integrated into the surrounding<br />
hillside and mirroring similar design<br />
elements to that of the surrounding<br />
buildings.<br />
“Along with Origin 3, we received<br />
high praise from Banes <strong>Co</strong>uncil for our<br />
approach to the redevel<strong>op</strong>ment – referring<br />
to our process as the model for how to<br />
plan and include the local community.”<br />
D’Ovidio said the site “will bring<br />
numerous new jobs to the area – we are<br />
already using local contractors in all<br />
aspects of the build.<br />
“Working with Bath <strong>Co</strong>llege, we<br />
have set up a committee to provide<br />
apprenticeships to young adults looking<br />
to begin a career in the industry.”<br />
Sustainability is also a crucial aspect to<br />
the plans, she said. “It will be built to the<br />
latest environmental standards, ensuring<br />
all wildlife and riverscape are protected,<br />
along with solar panels, shared energy<br />
groups and effective drainage.”<br />
Radstock <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is also working<br />
with partners “to create an affordable<br />
housing scheme available to the<br />
society’s employees, old and new, along<br />
with anyone who has a connection to<br />
Radstock,” she added.<br />
The retail units will be <strong>op</strong>en to major<br />
food chains to enhance the local economy,<br />
while Radstock <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> will have its office<br />
on the site, along with further office space<br />
to rent.<br />
“We h<strong>op</strong>e to be joined by <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Funeral in a purpose-built unit along with<br />
other local businesses,” said D’Ovidio.<br />
“We want the redevel<strong>op</strong>ment to serve the<br />
community for the future, bring the town<br />
together and create quality public realm<br />
where pe<strong>op</strong>le can gather with friends<br />
and family.”<br />
10 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
EDUCATION<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>llege unveils three-year strategy at its AGM<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>llege has unveiled a threeyear<br />
strategy to “streamline its focus” on<br />
areas where it says it has most impact.<br />
Presented by CEO Neil Calvert at its<br />
AGM on 30 June, the strategy sets out the<br />
“aims and aspirations” of the <strong>Co</strong>llege,<br />
“devel<strong>op</strong>ed over a number of months by<br />
staff and trustees, [incorporating] member<br />
feedback and ideas”.<br />
A statement on its website adds: “While<br />
in no way a radical departure from the co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
values and work you’ve come to<br />
expect from the <strong>Co</strong>llege – what the new<br />
strategy does is clearly articulate the who,<br />
why, what, and how of our organisation.<br />
We’re clear about our guiding principles,<br />
aims for the future, and the actions we’ll<br />
take to help get us there.“<br />
It adds that strategy has been broken<br />
down into four key themes – co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
learning, thought leadership, international<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative devel<strong>op</strong>ment and youth<br />
empowerment – and within those will<br />
cover the curriculum areas of co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
leadership, co-<strong>op</strong>erative values and<br />
behaviours, and concern for community.<br />
“By streamlining our focus,” it says,<br />
“we can concentrate on the areas where<br />
our distinctive learning approach can<br />
make the most impact. The strategy also<br />
recognises the importance of working<br />
in partnerships – with co-<strong>op</strong>erators,<br />
educators and others who share our<br />
values and objectives.<br />
“With ongoing inequality and social<br />
injustice in our society, the world needs<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration now more than ever. Our<br />
new strategy aims to put co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
learning at the heart of our communities<br />
and workplaces both in the UK and abroad<br />
to help tackle these issues.”<br />
Specific measures in the plan include<br />
advocating for the creation of new co-<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
the formation of strategic partnerships,<br />
facilitating “transformative international<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative projects”, delivering flexible<br />
services to suit diverse needs, and working<br />
with disadvantaged youth.<br />
HOUSING<br />
Cwmpas gets £540k<br />
from Welsh government<br />
for housing co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
Devel<strong>op</strong>ment agency Cwmpas has been<br />
awarded £540,000 from the Welsh<br />
government, and £408,539 from the<br />
Nationwide Foundation, to continue its<br />
work growing the country’s co-<strong>op</strong> and<br />
community-led housing sectors.<br />
The money will help Cwmpas –<br />
formerly the Wales <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Centre<br />
– to scale up its <strong>Co</strong>mmunities Creating<br />
Homes programme, whose new five-year<br />
strategy aims to double the number of<br />
groups taking forward co-<strong>op</strong>erative and<br />
community-led housing (CCLH) in Wales.<br />
This includes 150 new low-carbon homes<br />
completed, and a devel<strong>op</strong>ment pipeline<br />
for a further 250 homes.<br />
The government money will be<br />
phased over the next three years, while<br />
Nationwide’s funding – a continuation of<br />
previous support – runs until 2025.<br />
Jocelle Lovell, director of inclusive<br />
communities at Cwmpas, said: “CCLH<br />
plays an essential role alongside councils,<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ers and investors to create<br />
affordable homes in Wales which meet<br />
local community needs and support<br />
future generations. The funding from the<br />
Welsh government and the Nationwide<br />
Foundation is critical to building on the<br />
excellent progress that has already been<br />
made in this area.<br />
p Members of Tir Cyffredin co-<strong>op</strong><br />
“We know that every project is different<br />
– so our support is tailored to the needs of<br />
each community. Whether you’re new to<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative and community-led housing,<br />
have already formed a group or want to<br />
join an existing group, we want to help.”<br />
Climate change minister Julie James<br />
said: “<strong>Co</strong>mmunity-led housing must<br />
remain a part of the housing solution<br />
in Wales. Our support is as strong as it<br />
was 10 years ago and our Programme for<br />
Government reaffirms this.”<br />
Gary Hartin, Nationwide Foundation’s<br />
programme manager, said: “<strong>Co</strong>mmunityled<br />
housing can be a workable alternative<br />
method for genuinely affordable housing.<br />
It can create homes that local pe<strong>op</strong>le need,<br />
where they want them. The conditions for<br />
this to happen are strong in Wales.”<br />
Projects supported by the <strong>Co</strong>mmunities<br />
Creating Homes team include: Tir<br />
Cyffredin Housing <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> in Machynlleth,<br />
teaching the group to set up a housing co<strong>op</strong>,<br />
raise capital through a mortgage and<br />
community funding and buy their house.<br />
None of the residents had any previous<br />
experience of home ownership, setting up<br />
a co-<strong>op</strong> or raising funds.<br />
And Gwyr <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Land Trust CiC,<br />
near Swansea, is in an area where secondhome<br />
ownership has inflated pr<strong>op</strong>erty<br />
prices and decimated the rental market.<br />
The CCH team is helping a group of locals<br />
toward their goal of building “sustainable,<br />
zero carbon, low impact, stylish, healthy<br />
community-led homes” – including<br />
the establishment of a legal structure,<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ing plans and finding land.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 11
RETAIL<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group expands<br />
its robot delivery<br />
service to Bedford<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group has expanded its<br />
partnership with Starship Technologies to<br />
roll out robot deliveries to neighbourhoods<br />
in Bedford.<br />
Working with Bedford <strong>Co</strong>uncil, the<br />
collaboration will see up to 45,000<br />
residents across 20,000 households<br />
offered deliveries from three local <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
stores – Goldington, Queens Drive and<br />
Kempston.<br />
The Group already <strong>op</strong>erates robot<br />
deliveries with Starship in communities<br />
across Milton Keynes, Northampton and<br />
Cambridgeshire.<br />
Chris <strong>Co</strong>nway, ecommerce director at<br />
the Group, said: “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is committed to<br />
exploring new and innovative ways to serve<br />
our members and customers – they lead<br />
busy lives so ease, speed and convenience<br />
are at the heart of our approach.<br />
“We are delighted to be able to expand<br />
our partnership to areas of Bedford –<br />
as a convenience retailer, the ability to<br />
come into stores will always be important<br />
to customers, but we also know that<br />
sh<strong>op</strong>pers want flexible and convenient<br />
<strong>op</strong>tions online, and so we are focused on<br />
providing what our customers want and<br />
need, however and wherever they choose<br />
to sh<strong>op</strong> with us.”<br />
Starship was created by the co-founders<br />
of Skype in 2014. Since launching<br />
commercial deliveries in 2018, Starship’s<br />
robots have travelled more than 4 million<br />
miles and completed more than 3.5 million<br />
deliveries. It says the robots are powered<br />
by zero carbon electricity, with an average<br />
delivery for a Starship robot consuming as<br />
little energy as boiling a kettle to make a<br />
cup of tea.<br />
The robots are lightweight and travel<br />
at the speed of a pedestrian (no faster<br />
than 4mph). They use a combination<br />
of sensors, artificial intelligence and<br />
machine learning to travel on pavements<br />
and navigate around any obstacles,<br />
while computer vision-based navigation<br />
helps them map their environment to the<br />
nearest inch.<br />
Scotmid launches Men<strong>op</strong>ause Café for its colleagues<br />
Scotmid retail society has become the first<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative to launch a Men<strong>op</strong>ause Café<br />
for its colleagues.<br />
The staff-led initiative aims to <strong>op</strong>en up<br />
conversations around men<strong>op</strong>ause and<br />
create a safe and inclusive environment to<br />
share experiences and discuss challenges.<br />
The member-owned retail society,<br />
which has around 4,000 employees<br />
located across Scotland, Northern Ireland<br />
and the north of England, held its first<br />
online Café on 28 June during <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong><br />
Fortnight, an annual celebration of co<strong>op</strong>eration.<br />
“<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Fortnight feels like a fitting<br />
time to launch the initiative,” said Shirley<br />
MacGillivray, head of membership and<br />
community.<br />
The launch of the cafe follows Scotmid<br />
sponsoring the world’s only men<strong>op</strong>ause<br />
festival, #FlushFest<strong>2022</strong>, organised by<br />
Perth-based charity, Men<strong>op</strong>ause Café.<br />
Scotmid’s membership, community and<br />
society press liaison manager, Lynne Ogg,<br />
said that meeting the festival organisers<br />
had left her excited about the idea of<br />
setting a Men<strong>op</strong>ause Café at Scotmid, so<br />
she began to take the idea forward.<br />
“The response was positive and<br />
supportive so, as part of our new Wellbeing<br />
initiative, we officially launched the Café<br />
on Tuesday,” she added.<br />
“As well as positive feedback from<br />
Tuesday’s Café, we are hearing that<br />
conversation has <strong>op</strong>ened up between<br />
colleagues across the society. Tuesday’s<br />
group decided they would like to meet<br />
monthly, so plans are under way for the<br />
next Café and we look forward to welcoming<br />
more colleagues to the conversation.<br />
One Scotmid colleague named Gillian,<br />
who attended the Café, said: “I had no<br />
idea what to expect, the Men<strong>op</strong>ause Café<br />
concept was completely new to me. I<br />
thought I would go along to just observe<br />
but I found myself relaxed and happy to<br />
share my own story. It was reassuring to<br />
hear from others, I don’t feel so alone. I felt<br />
uplifted and more positive after only one<br />
meeting so am already looking forward to<br />
the next.”<br />
12 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
RETAIL<br />
Southern h<strong>op</strong>es to save<br />
£220k a year through<br />
electronic shelf labels<br />
Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> is to roll out electronic<br />
shelf labels (ESELs) across its stores after<br />
a successful trial period.<br />
The retail society has been testing<br />
two types of ESEL since December 2020,<br />
gradually widening the trial to 15 stores<br />
over the past 12 months. It says it has<br />
“astoundingly positive feedback” from<br />
staff who say they could not stand to go<br />
back to paper labelling, and is investing in<br />
a roll out across its estate towards the end<br />
of <strong>2022</strong> and throughout 2023.<br />
Adam Skiller, manager of Southern’s<br />
Stockbridge Road, Chichester, store,<br />
which has had the ESELs for 19 months,<br />
said: “We are able to save so much time<br />
and I have got the confidence that all the<br />
prices are accurate.<br />
“We used to get through around 40<br />
packs of paper for shelf edge labels a<br />
year so that is a huge saving in paper<br />
and financially. All the colleagues love<br />
it. Replacing all the paper labels – the<br />
job always fell to the same pe<strong>op</strong>le and it<br />
is incredibly monotonous. So it does help<br />
with morale and it looks clean and tidy.”<br />
The society h<strong>op</strong>es to save £220,000 a<br />
year in paper and consumable costs such<br />
as printing with the tech, manufactured<br />
by SoluM, a Samsung-invested company.<br />
The rollout is being carried out with<br />
Cambridge tech integrator Herbert Retail.<br />
The installation programme was<br />
delivered in partnership with Scotmid<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, which h<strong>op</strong>es to complete its ESEL<br />
installation to all its stores later this year.<br />
Southern is also the latest independent<br />
retail society to link up with Too Good To<br />
Go to offer Magic Bags of food past its bestbefore<br />
date.<br />
Too Good To Go’s app allows customers<br />
to buy surplus food and drink products<br />
from local Southern <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> sites which are<br />
near to their expiry date.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group to axe 400 jobs at Manchester head office<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group announced plans to axe<br />
400 jobs as <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> was going to press,<br />
pointing to a “tough trading environment”<br />
as the cost-of-living crisis bites. Most roles<br />
will be cut from its Angel Square HQ in<br />
Manchester. A spokeswoman the changes<br />
came “with a heavy heart” but were the<br />
“right thing to do for the long-term health”<br />
of the business.<br />
MPs name Globe co-<strong>op</strong> the Jazz Venue of the Year<br />
Newcastle’s community-owned music<br />
venue The Globe has won a Parliamentary<br />
Jazz Award for the second year running.<br />
The award means the Globe is now<br />
officially the UK Jazz Venue of the Year as<br />
voted by an independent panel of experts<br />
following a public vote. The announcement<br />
was made at the All Party Parliamentary<br />
Jazz Appreciation Group awards ceremony.<br />
Nisa reports healthy 2021 as sales level from pandemic peak<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nvenience retail chain Nisa, owned by<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group, reported profits of £7.5m<br />
for the year to 2 January <strong>2022</strong>. This is down<br />
from £10.9m in 2020, when trade was<br />
inflated by <strong>Co</strong>vid lockdown measures, but<br />
way ahead of the £9.4m loss for 2019. Sales<br />
fell back to £1.38bn from £1.6bn in 2020,<br />
which last year fell back to £1.38bn.<br />
Central England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> to fit Smartcool energy saving tech<br />
Central England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has signed a deal<br />
to install Smartcool technology at 68 of its<br />
sites, as part of its efforts to cut energy use<br />
and reduce its carbon footprint.<br />
The project, which includes the addition<br />
of Smartcool’s <strong>op</strong>timisation technology<br />
on 120 heat pumps, follows a six months<br />
of tests at four of the co-<strong>op</strong>’s sites, which<br />
achieved savings of over 25% in kWh.<br />
Midcounties <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> offers Fairtrade discount to members<br />
Midcounties <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative is offering its<br />
members a 10% discount on all Fairtrade<br />
products across its 230 food stores.<br />
The savings, on goods including<br />
bananas, tea, coffee, flowers and wine,<br />
will be in place until the end of the year<br />
at least, and is funded by the society,<br />
meaning there will be no impact on<br />
payments to the producers.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 13
GLOBAL UPDATES<br />
GLOBAL<br />
World marks 100th International Day of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
The 100th edition of the International Day<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives, celebrated on 2 July, took<br />
the theme “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives build a better<br />
world”, in a bid to promote awareness of<br />
the model.<br />
In a video message, Ariel Guarco,<br />
president of the International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Alliance (ICA) said: “As co-<strong>op</strong>eratives,<br />
we always show that a different world<br />
is possible, one with social justice, in<br />
perfect harmony with nature, a world at<br />
peace. That is why we are celebrating this<br />
day with the certainty that every day we<br />
are transforming our planet into a place<br />
where we can live with dignity, and where<br />
future generations will be able to do this<br />
too. Let’s continue doing what we are<br />
doing to build a better world.”<br />
Iñigo Albizuri, president of the<br />
International Organisation of Industrial<br />
and Service <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives (Cic<strong>op</strong>a) noted<br />
that the date also marked the 20th<br />
anniversary of the International Labour<br />
Organisation’s recommendation No.193<br />
on the Promotion of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
“This historical recommendation<br />
acknowledges that ‘co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in<br />
their various forms promote the fullest<br />
participation in the economic and social<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment of all pe<strong>op</strong>le’,” he said.<br />
“Indeed, over the years our worker and<br />
social co-<strong>op</strong>eratives – employing four<br />
million persons across the world – have<br />
consistently built a better world through<br />
creating quality jobs, empowering<br />
disadvantaged groups of the p<strong>op</strong>ulation,<br />
and providing affordable, much-needed<br />
goods and services.”<br />
But it is also important to look forward,<br />
he added. “Policymakers across the<br />
globe increasingly pay more attention<br />
to the benefits of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative model<br />
because we have answers to many of the<br />
challenges modern societies are facing.”<br />
Rose Marley, CEO of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
UK, published a blog post highlighting<br />
the international impact of the UK’s co<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
“from disaster relief projects which<br />
help those in desperate need to uplifting<br />
international projects which improve<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le’s livelihoods each and every day”.<br />
In the United Arab Emirates, retailer<br />
Union <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> published a statement<br />
reaffirming its commitment to corporate<br />
social responsibility.<br />
Dr Suhail Al Bastaki, happiness and<br />
marketing director, said: “Being the<br />
largest consumer co-<strong>op</strong>erative in the UAE,<br />
Union <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> plays a vital role in regulating<br />
the market prices and thus benefits the<br />
hard-working consumer with justified<br />
prices and premium quality.<br />
“The sales volume of local, organic and<br />
hydr<strong>op</strong>onic fresh vegetables and fruits has<br />
always been on a steady rise, as supporting<br />
and encouraging local agriculture comes<br />
at the t<strong>op</strong> of our priorities, to achieve<br />
sustainable agricultural goals and<br />
enhance stocks and food security in the<br />
country. Moreover, we have been working<br />
closely with local farms to ensure healthy<br />
agricultural practices and help them in<br />
multiple ways.<br />
“Recently, in line with the directives<br />
of the Executive <strong>Co</strong>uncil of Dubai, we<br />
decided to limit single-use plastic bags<br />
jointly with other retailers from July, which<br />
is a very important step towards gradually<br />
establishing a sustainable environment.<br />
So yes, we can easily establish that co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
are already playing a crucial<br />
role in building a better world for the<br />
current and next generations.”<br />
US apex body NCBA CLUSA runs the<br />
International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
Program (CDP), funded by the US Agency<br />
for International Devel<strong>op</strong>ment (USAID),<br />
which celebrated in several countries.<br />
In Madagascar, NCBA CLUSA joined<br />
the Ministry of Industry, <strong>Co</strong>mmerce<br />
and <strong>Co</strong>nsumption to host the country’s<br />
third National Forum on <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives,<br />
alongside an expo for co-<strong>op</strong>s to showcase<br />
and sell their products on 1-2 July.<br />
In Kenya, Meru Dairy Union, a key<br />
CDP partner and pillar of Meru <strong>Co</strong>unty’s<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative sector, held a celebration<br />
which drew more than 20,000 co-<strong>op</strong><br />
members, families and community<br />
members from Meru and neighbouring<br />
Tharaka Nithi <strong>Co</strong>unty. Local government<br />
officials, the governor of Meru, and<br />
the principal secretary from the State<br />
Department of Agriculture also attended.<br />
Many co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and service providers<br />
showcased their products and services.<br />
In Peru, NCBA CLUSA co-sponsored a<br />
virtual event with the Peruvian Leadership<br />
School, “NEURO-COOP: The future of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and co-<strong>op</strong>eratives of the<br />
future”.<br />
Panellists included prominent leaders<br />
from Peru, Ecuador and Mexico, and<br />
NCBA CLUSA’s CDP director in Peru,<br />
Oscar Inocente. Discussion focused on<br />
how co-<strong>op</strong>eratives can be better prepared<br />
to tackle future challenges and achieve<br />
sustainability.<br />
14 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
EUROPE / NEW ZEALAND<br />
Trade deal draws different criticisms from EU and NZ co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
The EU and New Zealand concluded<br />
negotiations for a trade agreement on<br />
30 June, which is expected to increase<br />
bilateral trade between the two by 30%.<br />
The deal, which has sparked concern<br />
from farmers on both sides, for different<br />
reasons, includes the elimination of all<br />
tariffs on EU exports to New Zealand and<br />
guarantee duty-free access on 97% of New<br />
Zealand’s current exports to the EU.<br />
Is the first deal struck by the EU to<br />
include potential sanctions for violations<br />
of environmental or labour standards –as<br />
announced by the block last week.<br />
The deal has a dedicated sustainable<br />
food systems chapter, a dedicated<br />
trade and gender equality article and a<br />
dedicated provision on trade and fossil<br />
fuel subsidies reform.<br />
The agricultural package was among<br />
the most contested, with farmers on<br />
both sides expressing disappointment,<br />
including agricultural co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
Asked about the agricultural package,<br />
New Zealand trade minister Damien<br />
O’<strong>Co</strong>nnor: “It’s probably fair to say that no<br />
one likes it, so we must have got it about<br />
right,” reported Reuters.<br />
Responding to the deal, <strong>Co</strong>pa and<br />
<strong>Co</strong>geca, the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean voice of agri farmers<br />
and their co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, raised concerns<br />
about its members’ ability to c<strong>op</strong>e with<br />
market pressures. The apex argued that<br />
additional market access to NZ exporters<br />
would impact Eur<strong>op</strong>ean farmers at a<br />
time when they are trying to invest in<br />
sustainability.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>pa and <strong>Co</strong>geca secretary-general<br />
Pekka Pesonen said: “<strong>Co</strong>pa and <strong>Co</strong>geca<br />
welcome the fact that EU production<br />
safety standard and geographical<br />
indications have been recognised under<br />
the agreement with New Zealand. We<br />
acknowledge the commitments that both<br />
the EU and New Zealand have agreed<br />
upon with regards to incorporating the<br />
principles of the Paris agreement and<br />
sustainability in international trade.<br />
“However, we know that for key sectors<br />
such as dairy, sheep and beef production<br />
this agreement is painful. Therefore,<br />
we call for a pr<strong>op</strong>er management and<br />
monitoring of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on<br />
imports of agricultural products to avoid<br />
market failure.”<br />
p NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern with<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission president Ursula von<br />
der Leyen (Image: Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission)<br />
The agreement will protect the full list of<br />
EU wines and spirits and – by recognising<br />
geographical indications – 163 renowned<br />
traditional EU products, such as Asiago,<br />
Feta, <strong>Co</strong>mté or Queso Manchego cheeses,<br />
Istarski pršut ham, Lübecker Marzipan,<br />
and Elia Kalamatas olives.<br />
This has sparked concern from farmers<br />
in New Zealand. Dairy giant Fonterra –a<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative owned by around 10,500<br />
farmers – said the deal was disappointing<br />
for NZ’s dairy sector and reflected a degree<br />
of protectionism in the EU dairy industry.<br />
Simon Tucker, Fonterra’s director for<br />
global sustainability, stakeholder affairs<br />
and trade, said: “The agreement provides<br />
some small pockets of access for certain<br />
products over time, but overall commercial<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities for products such as butter,<br />
cheese, milk powder and key proteins<br />
are constrained relative to the size of the<br />
EU market by a combination of small<br />
permanent quotas, in-quota tariff rates,<br />
and quota administration requirements.<br />
“At the same time, the outcomes for<br />
the EU on geographical indications (GIs)<br />
mean that Fonterra, alongside other<br />
New Zealand cheese producers, will no<br />
longer be able to use the term ‘feta’ after<br />
a transition period of nine years. Fonterra<br />
has, however, retained the ability to use<br />
the terms parmesan and gruyere.<br />
“Access to markets and the elimination<br />
of barriers to trade is critical at a time<br />
of growing ge<strong>op</strong>olitical uncertainty<br />
to provide <strong>op</strong>tionality for exporters,<br />
particularly into markets where<br />
customers and consumers value New<br />
Zealand sustainability and provenance<br />
credentials.”<br />
He added: “New Zealand’s future export<br />
success, and the jobs that this creates<br />
across regional New Zealand, depend<br />
on addressing the large trade barriers<br />
remaining across many markets as part<br />
of New Zealand’s future trade agenda,<br />
including through any upgrades or<br />
reviews of the NZ-EU FTA.”<br />
By contrast, politicians on both<br />
sides have praised the deal. Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission president, Ursula von der<br />
Leyen, said the deal was crucial because<br />
New Zealand is a key partner for the EU in<br />
the Indo-Pacific region.<br />
“This trade agreement brings major<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities for our companies, our<br />
farmers and our consumers, on both<br />
sides,” she said.<br />
“It can help increase trade between us by<br />
30%. It includes unprecedented social and<br />
climate commitments. This new agreement<br />
between the EU and New Zealand comes<br />
at an important ge<strong>op</strong>olitical moment.<br />
Democracies – like ours – work together<br />
and deliver for pe<strong>op</strong>le.”<br />
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda<br />
Ardern said: “Our EU-NZ FTA is expected<br />
to increase the value of New Zealand’s<br />
exports to the EU by up to NZ$1.8bn<br />
(£0.9bn) per year from 2035; that’s more<br />
lucrative than the benefits derived from<br />
our recent UK FTA.<br />
“It’s a strategically important and<br />
economically beneficial deal that comes<br />
at a crucial time in our export led <strong>Co</strong>vid-19<br />
recovery.<br />
“It delivers tangible gains for exporters<br />
into a restrictive agricultural market. It cuts<br />
costs and red tape for exporters and <strong>op</strong>ens<br />
up new high value market <strong>op</strong>portunities<br />
and increases our economic resilience<br />
through diversifying the markets that we<br />
can more freely export into.<br />
“The complete removal of duties on<br />
the majority of products New Zealand<br />
exports to the EU is a major achievement<br />
in a deal that covers market access into 27<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean countries.<br />
Negotiations between the EU and New<br />
Zealand started in 2018. The deal will<br />
require approval by trade ministers of all<br />
27 EU member states and the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
Parliament and ratification by New<br />
Zealand, all of which could take between<br />
18 and 24 months.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 15
AUSTRALIA<br />
Business schools’ neglect of co-<strong>op</strong><br />
education ‘costs us all’, warns leading academic<br />
Australian business schools’ neglect of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative education is “costing us<br />
all”, says Greg Patmore of the University<br />
of Sydney.<br />
Writing in The <strong>Co</strong>nversation, Prof<br />
Patmore said the positive contribution<br />
made by co-<strong>op</strong>s in Australia is not reflected<br />
in the country’s business education.<br />
“Australia has a rich history of<br />
communities forming co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
to provide services where for-profit<br />
businesses or the state have been<br />
unwilling or unable,” he wrote. “They<br />
run sh<strong>op</strong>s and schools, offer banking and<br />
mortgage services, and provide housing<br />
and health services.<br />
“Though co-<strong>op</strong>eratives exist throughout<br />
Australian society, making a hugely<br />
valuable economic contribution, their<br />
distinctive nature and management<br />
requirements are largely ignored by<br />
university business schools. This neglect<br />
is costing us all.”<br />
In 2016 a Senate committee inquiry<br />
found neglect of co-<strong>op</strong> and mutual<br />
businesses in education was holding the<br />
sector back.<br />
Prof Patmore suggests in the article<br />
that this neglect has actively damaged the<br />
sector, highlighting the demutualisation<br />
of large member-owned organisations<br />
such as AMP and the St George Bank in<br />
the 1980s and 1990s.<br />
There are over 1,700 co-<strong>op</strong>s in Australia,<br />
with around eight in ten Australians being<br />
members of a co-<strong>op</strong> or mutual. However,<br />
only three in ten Australians could<br />
name a co-<strong>op</strong>erative or mutually owned<br />
enterprise and only 16% of Australians<br />
are aware they are a member of one,<br />
according to a survey conducted by The<br />
Australia Institute.<br />
Prof Patmore points to Tranby<br />
Indigenous adult education school as a<br />
good example of co-<strong>op</strong>erative education,<br />
but said this a “rarity in business<br />
Photo: Getty Images<br />
education”, where “the focus instead is<br />
on individual entrepreneurship, investorowned<br />
businesses and vague ideas of<br />
social business”.<br />
Both specialist courses on co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
and recognition of co-<strong>op</strong>s within general<br />
business or law courses is needed, said<br />
Prof Patmore, who also made an appeal to<br />
Australia’s new prime minister, Anthony<br />
Albanese.<br />
“It is important students at all levels<br />
be aware of what makes co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
businesses different and valuable,”<br />
he wrote. “H<strong>op</strong>efully the Albanese<br />
government will not neglect them. They<br />
have a lot to offer communities and<br />
reinforce democratic values.”<br />
GLOBAL<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s are key<br />
to SDG3 on health and<br />
wellbeing, says report<br />
The International Health <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Organisation (IHCO) has published a<br />
report on how co-<strong>op</strong>s are helping to<br />
achieve Sustainable Devel<strong>op</strong>ment Goal 3,<br />
Better Health and Wellbeing.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s can be owned by healthcare<br />
professionals, by patients and other<br />
service users, or by multistakeholder<br />
groups, says the report.<br />
It adds that some co-<strong>op</strong>s focus on<br />
one type of service while others offer<br />
a vast array of general and specialised<br />
services. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives can offer medical<br />
services performed by doctors and/<br />
or other professional services such as<br />
nursing, physiotherapy, chir<strong>op</strong>ractic or<br />
dental hygiene. Their role is not limited<br />
to the treatment and cure of diseases, but<br />
also covers preventative, palliative and<br />
rehabilitation services.<br />
By providing these services, says the<br />
report, co-<strong>op</strong>eratives contribute to the<br />
overall performance of health systems<br />
and complement public health systems.<br />
“In some cases, they offer services under<br />
the remit of public healthcare through<br />
direct concession contracts, offering<br />
a sustainable alternative that saves<br />
resources from government budgets.”<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives also help to balance<br />
the market between public and private<br />
<strong>op</strong>erators, says the report, which includes<br />
a series of case studies to show the value<br />
of the model.<br />
The role of health co-<strong>op</strong>eratives has<br />
been acknowledged by the 2021 UN<br />
secretary general’s Report on <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
in Social Devel<strong>op</strong>ment, which stated<br />
that “the <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 pandemic has led to a<br />
sudden and massive increase in demand<br />
for health services, and health co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
in many countries were ready<br />
to provide support, relieving some of the<br />
pressures being faced by public healthcare<br />
systems”.<br />
In addition to providing an overview<br />
of the sector, the report makes<br />
recommendations to “ensure the<br />
fulfilment of their potential and to create a<br />
level-playing field” for co-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
These include:<br />
• ensuring laws, regulations, and<br />
administrative procedures provide an<br />
enabling environment for co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
cater for their distinctive characteristics;<br />
• providing specific financial tools to<br />
ensure the creation and devel<strong>op</strong>ment of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, particularly at the startup<br />
phase;<br />
• ensuring co-<strong>op</strong>erative devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
policies feature information, training,<br />
education, and research on the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model and its benefits for achieving<br />
public health objectives;<br />
• encouraging co-<strong>op</strong>s in the health<br />
sector to organise under representative<br />
structures to advocate for policies that<br />
respect their business model in a more<br />
coordinated and efficient way.<br />
The full report from IHCO and<br />
Promo<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> is available on IHCO’s website.<br />
16 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
EUROPE<br />
CECOP report highlights the advantages<br />
of the co-<strong>op</strong> model in the care sector<br />
A new report by the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
confederation of industrial and service<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives (CECOP) explores how co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
help to meet the high demand for care.<br />
Released ahead of the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Care<br />
Strategy, due this autumn, CECOP’s report<br />
focuses on how co-<strong>op</strong>s address challenges<br />
in the care sector and showcases best<br />
practices.<br />
According to the EU Social Protection<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmittee (SPC), long-term care will be<br />
necessary for 38.1 million Eur<strong>op</strong>eans in<br />
2050, up from 30.8 million in 2019. The<br />
report highlights some of the challenges<br />
affecting the sector, such as care workers<br />
being poorly paid – or not paid at all,<br />
precarious employment conditions, and<br />
physically and emotionally challenging<br />
work. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives can address these<br />
issues, it argues, by offering quality<br />
services to care recipients and quality<br />
working conditions to their workers.<br />
The sector is particularly well devel<strong>op</strong>ed<br />
in Italy, where more than 14,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
provide care services to five million pe<strong>op</strong>le,<br />
employing 400,000 workers. Similarly, in<br />
Spain 1,000 co-<strong>op</strong>s provide care services<br />
to 67,000 pe<strong>op</strong>le, directly employing 3,000<br />
workers. And in Sweden, around 10% of<br />
childcare is provided by co-<strong>op</strong>s. While<br />
some of these are managed by parents,<br />
others are worker or multistakeholder<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
The report highlights the distinction<br />
between co-<strong>op</strong> ownership – exclusively by<br />
workers or alongside other stakeholders<br />
such as care recipients, public authorities<br />
or other partners – and private enterprise.<br />
And it refers to a 2019 Eurofound study<br />
on employment conditions in co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
social enterprises, which found that co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
prefer to offer full-time, permanent jobs –<br />
the ‘standard employment’ model which is<br />
often used as an indicator of a good-quality<br />
job. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> workers in the Eurofound study<br />
rated job quality as high, in absolute terms<br />
and in comparison to similar organisations;<br />
gave high ratings to the social environment,<br />
voice and representation in the workplace,<br />
work-life balance and task discretion;<br />
and reported plenty of <strong>op</strong>portunities for<br />
skills devel<strong>op</strong>ment, high levels of job<br />
security, and “significant intent to provide<br />
workers with career <strong>op</strong>portunities within<br />
organisations”.<br />
As enterprises governed on the principle<br />
of one member, one vote, co-<strong>op</strong>s can also<br />
educate their worker-members on internal<br />
governance issues. The CECOP report says<br />
this allows members “to fully take control<br />
of their own employment, and promote a<br />
collaboration culture”.<br />
Maintaining a work-life balance is<br />
another challenge for care providers and<br />
here, too, co-<strong>op</strong>s can make a difference.<br />
The report explains that “many co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
make an effort t o i mprove t he<br />
living conditions of their members by<br />
providing additional services which relieve<br />
the pressure on the workers”.<br />
Based on these findings, t he C ECOP<br />
report makes several recommendations,<br />
including: giving co-<strong>op</strong>eratives the legal,<br />
political, and financial support they need;<br />
treating care as an essential service to the<br />
community where quality is prioritised<br />
rather than using the cheapest price<br />
criteria in public procurement; improving<br />
accessibility of state aid to co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
providing care services; supporting co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
as key actors providing care in a formal<br />
environment, transforming informal<br />
and self-organised care; and supporting<br />
digitalisation and innovation in the<br />
care sector.<br />
The full report, which was funded<br />
by the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Union, is available<br />
at bit.ly/3RmpiY7<br />
GLOBAL<br />
Basel relaxes<br />
guidance on credit<br />
union regulations<br />
The credit union sector has welcomed the<br />
latest guidance from the Basel <strong>Co</strong>mmittee<br />
on Banking Supervision, which calls for a<br />
more pr<strong>op</strong>ortional approach to regulation<br />
to help smaller finance providers.<br />
In its guidance, Basel calls on<br />
supervisory authorities to tailor regulation<br />
for non-internationally active banks,<br />
according to local circumstances.<br />
It said this could mean applying the<br />
current framework –Basel III – or earlier<br />
forms “for jurisdictions that have simpler<br />
banking systems, implemented in a way<br />
that is consistent with the underlying<br />
objective of the international standard.<br />
“Such pr<strong>op</strong>ortionate approaches<br />
preserve financial stability through bank<br />
safety and soundness. For some banks and<br />
banking systems, this might be achieved<br />
with rules that are even simpler than the<br />
Basel Framework while remaining broadly<br />
aligned with the international standards”.<br />
The World <strong>Co</strong>uncil of Credit Unions<br />
(Woccu), which has long been calling on<br />
Basel to work with national supervisors<br />
on the implementation of its standards,<br />
welcomed the guidance. Woccu believes<br />
national supervisors should tailor Basel<br />
III standards appr<strong>op</strong>riately for the size,<br />
risk and complexity of credit unions.<br />
Earlier this year Woccu urged the G20 to<br />
direct the international standard setting<br />
bodies to work closely with national<br />
regulators to fully ad<strong>op</strong>t pr<strong>op</strong>ortional<br />
tailoring of regulations for the purposes of<br />
advancing financial inclusion.<br />
Andrew Price, Woccu’s senior vice<br />
president of advocacy and general<br />
counsel, said: “This guidance is<br />
welcomed and will ultimately help credit<br />
unions achieve greater financial inclusion<br />
worldwide.”<br />
Read the Basel guidance at bit.ly/3PG1wV8<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 17
EUROPE<br />
Social Economy Action Plan report approved by Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Parliament<br />
The Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Parliament has approved<br />
a report featuring suggestions and<br />
recommendations for a more ambitious<br />
implementation of the EU Action Plan for<br />
the Social Economy.<br />
Prepared by rapporteur Jordi Cañas<br />
MEP (Renew, ES), SEIG vice-chair and<br />
by the Employment and Social Affairs<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmittee, the report passed with<br />
493 votes in favour, 75 against and 69<br />
abstentions, on 6 July.<br />
The approved report will help to provide<br />
feedback to the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission<br />
on its pr<strong>op</strong>osals for the social economy<br />
– which has 2.8 million social economy<br />
actors that employ 13.6 million pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
across the member states.<br />
It makes several recommendations,<br />
such as agreeing a common EU-level<br />
definition of the social economy based<br />
on its main principles and features.<br />
And it advocates the deployment of<br />
financial tools to respond to the specific<br />
needs of social economy enterprises<br />
and organisations, raising awareness of<br />
the social economy as an employer and<br />
entrepreneurial model, and helping social<br />
economy actors devel<strong>op</strong> programmes to<br />
improve social service devel<strong>op</strong>ment, and<br />
boost the delivery and the accessibility of<br />
services for the most vulnerable.<br />
Mr Cañas said: “The Eur<strong>op</strong>ean<br />
Parliament has shown its resolve to<br />
elevate the social economy and its key<br />
principles – social inclusion, solidarity,<br />
and justice – to the place it deserves in the<br />
EU policy debate.<br />
“More importantly, it has put on the<br />
table some pr<strong>op</strong>osals to pave the way and<br />
accompany the powerful transformation<br />
and consolidation the social economy is<br />
undergoing. The social economy has a<br />
strong ally in the Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Parliament.”<br />
Katrin Langensiepen MEP (Greens/<br />
EFA, DE), SEIG vice-chair and shadow<br />
rapporteur, added: “With this report the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Parliament clearly stresses<br />
the importance of social economy<br />
in the green transition and future of<br />
work. We particularly welcome the<br />
gender mainstreaming and the demand<br />
to facilitate funding for women.<br />
Nevertheless, we Greens would have<br />
preferred a more ambitious paper<br />
including the establishment of a label and<br />
p The Eur<strong>op</strong>ean Parliament in Strasbourg, France (Image: iStock)<br />
a common definition for social economy<br />
enterprises to increase their visibility. We<br />
h<strong>op</strong>e that this will come in the next steps.”<br />
Juan Antonio Pedreño, president of<br />
Social Economy Eur<strong>op</strong>e, said: “This<br />
report points in a positive direction<br />
and has gathered a wide support from<br />
493 MEPs, that would like to see an<br />
ambitious implementation of the Social<br />
Economy Action Plan. The role of the EP<br />
and of its Social Economy Intergroup is<br />
more relevant than ever to support the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmission, member states, and social<br />
economy stakeholders in further boosting<br />
the social economy across Eur<strong>op</strong>e, scaling<br />
up from 6.3% of all EU jobs today to 10%<br />
by 2030.”<br />
The action plan was launched by the<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission in December<br />
2021 to boost the social economy, which<br />
includes co-<strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e welcomed the<br />
report, describing it as “an <strong>op</strong>portunity to<br />
push the <strong>Co</strong>mmission to go further in its<br />
commitments”.<br />
Specifically, the apex body approved<br />
of the necessary promotion of the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model and its principles of democracy<br />
and member participation, the need<br />
for enhanced partnerships and co<strong>op</strong>eration<br />
between the social economy<br />
and mainstream businesses, and the need<br />
for education, training, upskilling and<br />
reskilling schemes to help social economy<br />
organisations (SEOs) compete.<br />
But the apex was critical of the<br />
absence of more ‘disruptive’ or ambitious<br />
measures.<br />
“For instance, the report does not<br />
include (democratic) governance aspects<br />
as essential criteria of the social economy,<br />
especially regarding socially responsible<br />
procurement,” it said in a statement<br />
on its website. “Similarly, on capacitybuilding<br />
support measures for SEOs in<br />
their (start-up phase) stressed by the<br />
report, to ensure that young co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
or other SEOs get access to funding and<br />
training programmes early on in their<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment phase.<br />
“<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e h<strong>op</strong>es this report<br />
will nourish the <strong>Co</strong>mmission’s work for<br />
the Action Plan implementation. We stand<br />
ready to work on this matter hand in hand<br />
with the <strong>Co</strong>mmission to offer our member<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and social economy as a<br />
whole the best chances to devel<strong>op</strong> and<br />
thrive in the EU.”<br />
18 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
CANADA<br />
Government includes co-<strong>op</strong>s in fund to drive broadband inclusion<br />
The Canadian government is working with<br />
the government of Quebec on a CA$8.2m<br />
(£5.3m) project to bring broadband to 25<br />
rural communities across the province.<br />
Funding includes $181,244 for the<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>érative de câblodistribution de<br />
l’arrière-pays (CCAP) for a project<br />
benefiting the community of Stoneham-et-<br />
Tewkesbury.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong>’s general manager Stéphane<br />
Arseneau said: “As a co-<strong>op</strong>erative, we’re<br />
pleased to be able to participate in this<br />
collective effort to connect all Canadian<br />
households to high-speed internet.<br />
“We appreciate the involvement of both<br />
governments in this project, giving us the<br />
means and support needed to finally serve<br />
the residents in our area. They too deserve<br />
to take full advantage of this advanced<br />
and efficient means of communication.<br />
We had wanted to offer them this service<br />
for a long time, but its deployment was<br />
Image: GettyImages<br />
inconceivable without this financial<br />
support.”<br />
The funding also sees $98,758 go to the<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>érative de télécommunication SJM<br />
for a project benefiting the community of<br />
Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur-de-Wolfestown.<br />
In a joint statement, the co-<strong>op</strong>’s<br />
president Marc-André Grenier, and local<br />
mayor Steven Laprise said: “Saint-Jacques-<br />
Le-Majeur is the smallest municipality<br />
in Les Appalaches RCM, with barely<br />
200 inhabitants. This small group of<br />
residents decided to form a co-<strong>op</strong>erative.<br />
After six years of effort and with financial<br />
support from the federal and provincial<br />
governments, the municipality was the<br />
first to offer fibre-to-the-home Internet<br />
service in the summer of 2021.<br />
“Just because we’re small doesn’t mean<br />
we can’t have big plans. Our motto is keep<br />
moving forward!”<br />
The government of Canada says the<br />
scheme continues its “progress toward<br />
making sure that 98% of Canadians have<br />
access to high-speed internet by 2026”,<br />
adding that since 2015, it has invested<br />
more than $731m in Quebec connectivity.<br />
The scheme also includes private<br />
telecoms providers – with $1,208,522<br />
going to Bell Canada.<br />
AFRICA<br />
Fairtrade<br />
partnership using<br />
satellite monitoring tool<br />
to combat deforestation<br />
A partnership project is being launched<br />
by Fairtrade International, Fairtrade<br />
Africa and the non-profit Earthworm<br />
Foundation to monitor deforestation and<br />
assess environmental vulnerability using<br />
a satellite monitoring tool called Starling.<br />
The pilot project will capture<br />
deforestation data within Fairtrade co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
and their smallholder cocoa farmers<br />
in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to help them<br />
manage the forest. Working with the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, Earthworm will devel<strong>op</strong> a set<br />
of assessment tools which will analyse<br />
deforestation monitoring requirements,<br />
assemble the data required to carry out<br />
risk analyses and deliver near-real-time<br />
deforestation alerts. It will also devel<strong>op</strong><br />
training to smallholder co-<strong>op</strong>s to enable<br />
them to interpret the data and alerts.<br />
The partnership is expected to roll out<br />
its first deforestation alerts this summer.<br />
“Earthworm Foundation is excited to<br />
implement this project with Fairtrade<br />
International and Fairtrade Africa,” said<br />
Rob McWilliam, director of technical<br />
services at Earthworm Foundation.<br />
“We look forward to proving our<br />
experience and knowledge of using<br />
Starling’s land cover and forest cover<br />
change datasets to tackle deforestation<br />
and support actions for addressing<br />
environmental vulnerabilities. We are also<br />
excited to be working further with farmers<br />
and their organisations to devel<strong>op</strong> fit-forpurpose<br />
tools to enhance their work.”<br />
Jon Walker, senior advisor for <strong>Co</strong>coa<br />
at Fairtrade International, said: “We<br />
are thrilled to announce this landmark<br />
partnership that will explore how<br />
powerful data sets can be leveraged by<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and their members for<br />
their own risk analysis processes and in<br />
alignment with expected government<br />
regulation against deforestation.”<br />
The announcement follows a<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>ean <strong>Co</strong>mmission legislative<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>osal published in 2021 that seeks<br />
to ban imports of cocoa, coffee and<br />
other commodities when production is<br />
associated with deforestation. While<br />
supportive of deforestation legislation in<br />
general, Fairtrade has voiced concerns<br />
about its impact on smallholder farmers,<br />
who are reliant on cocoa for their income.<br />
The Fairtrade-Earthworm Foundation<br />
partnership aims to help smallholder<br />
cocoa farmers navigate any legislative<br />
complications that may threaten their<br />
livelihoods while also helping to preserve<br />
the environment.<br />
“This partnership will finally direct<br />
the transfer of deforestation risk data in<br />
a meaningful way to co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and<br />
their members in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana<br />
using the principles of Fair Data,” added<br />
Mr Walker.<br />
“In this manner, we can ensure that<br />
those with the least power in supply<br />
chains have access to this critical data and<br />
can use it to improve their livelihoods and<br />
beneficially impact their communities.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 19
AUSTRALIA<br />
Australian co-<strong>op</strong>s continue their response to devastating flood crisis<br />
With New South Wales (NSW) suffering<br />
more floods, just months after the disaster<br />
that submerged huge areas of eastern<br />
Australia, the co-<strong>op</strong> movement is stepping<br />
up its efforts to offer assistance.<br />
Heavy flooding broke out last month<br />
around the Sydney and Central <strong>Co</strong>ast area,<br />
destroying homes, leaving pe<strong>op</strong>le without<br />
power and killing at least one person.<br />
This comes hard on the heels of the<br />
devastating floods that hit NSW and<br />
Queensland between February and April,<br />
which left at least 22 pe<strong>op</strong>le dead.<br />
The Australian Mutuals Foundation<br />
(AMF), in partnership with the Business<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives and Mutuals<br />
(BCCM), G&C Mutual Bank and<br />
Summerland Credit Union, is offering<br />
small grants to support co-<strong>op</strong>s, mutuals<br />
and their members. This follows donations<br />
of more than AU$208,000 (£120,000) from<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s around the world, says BCCM.<br />
Individual co-<strong>op</strong>s around flood-hit<br />
Lismore, in the Northern Rivers region of<br />
NSW, have been playing a role in recovery.<br />
Norco Dairy <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, whose ice-cream<br />
factory, head office and rural store in South<br />
Lismore were deluged on 28 February,<br />
has been supporting its workers while<br />
<strong>op</strong>erations are suspended. It established<br />
a Go Fund Me page for employees and<br />
farmers, raising $109,794.15 as at 28 June.<br />
Thanks to a federal support package,<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> has been paying staff to work<br />
with volunteer group Resilient Lismore.<br />
“Resilient Lismore has tasked Norco<br />
crews to some of our biggest, dirtiest<br />
jobs,” said the volunteer organisation in<br />
a Facebook post. “Demolitions, cleanups<br />
and yard work. You name it. Every<br />
morning they arrived at the volunteer<br />
hub ready and willing to serve the most<br />
vulnerable in their community – some<br />
workers flood affected themselves.”<br />
The Norco team’s work with Resilient<br />
Lismore ended on 12 July with the 170 ice<br />
cream factory workers facing an uncertain<br />
fate; the co-<strong>op</strong> is still unable to cover<br />
workforce costs while the site is out of<br />
action, and the emergency federal support<br />
package was due to end on 14 July.<br />
But on the final day, the federal<br />
government stepped in with a $2.7m<br />
(£1.5m) package which gives Norco<br />
10 weeks to apply for further funding<br />
from a $59.3m (£34m) business support<br />
programme.<br />
Norco is one of several major businesses<br />
calling for the support programme to be<br />
doubled, and warns that rebuilding the<br />
ice cream site will depend support from<br />
federal and state governments.<br />
“Norco is ready and our staff are ready,”<br />
said CEO Michael Hampson. “I have a<br />
renewed sense of <strong>op</strong>timism for the future<br />
of the facility and we look forward to the<br />
day we celebrate its re<strong>op</strong>ening.”<br />
Another key co-<strong>op</strong> player is Summerland<br />
Credit Union, most of whose 30,000<br />
members live in the Northern Rivers area.<br />
In a podcast, BCCM interviewed CEO<br />
John Williams, who said the credit union<br />
has played a key part in community<br />
recovery, even though its own branches<br />
were left under water. In areas like<br />
Lismore, every bank branch and ATM<br />
was destroyed, leaving residents with<br />
cashflow problems. In response, cash was<br />
helic<strong>op</strong>tered in to affected regions.<br />
In Lismore, Summerland worked with<br />
Southern Cross University to set up an<br />
emergency banking hub four days after<br />
the flood, with five other mutual banks<br />
invited to use the site. Summerland has<br />
re<strong>op</strong>ened its Molesworth Street branch in<br />
Lismore but will continue the Southern<br />
Cross hub.<br />
Summerland also worked with Norco<br />
to set up emergency payroll facilities.<br />
“We have a quite a tight network of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives within the region,” said<br />
WIlliams. “I meet quite regularly with the<br />
executives and CEOs from Casino Food,<br />
from Norco, from macadamias, from the<br />
blueberry industry … to look at <strong>op</strong>tions<br />
and ways that we can further support the<br />
community and rebuild businesses.”<br />
Summerland is h<strong>op</strong>ing to secure a<br />
$200,000 (£115,000) pot of reconstruction<br />
funds, from the AMF and other sources,<br />
with a primary goal of restoring what has<br />
been destroyed in the disaster.<br />
Williams warned that climate change<br />
means “the norms in the past are not<br />
necessarily the norms of the future”.<br />
Also working to relieve the situation<br />
in Northern Rivers is Casino Food <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>,<br />
the largest farmer-owned meat processing<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> in Australia, which set up an<br />
emergency food distribution hub using<br />
its refrigeration plant, forklifts, helipad,<br />
fuel tanks, mobile generators and earth<br />
moving equipment.<br />
Staff, including plant workers and<br />
cleaning teams, volunteered to clean<br />
homes and assist with food distribution.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong>erative also agreed to take<br />
in the entire fresh produce – 20 pallets’<br />
worth – of a Lismore fruit and veg sh<strong>op</strong><br />
after it was evacuated, which BCCM says<br />
was “vital in keeping locals in evacuation<br />
centres alive”. And it served as the centre<br />
for air dr<strong>op</strong>s to isolated and cut-off<br />
communities – delivering 90 pallets of<br />
food, using 20 helic<strong>op</strong>ters and 11 trucks<br />
to 14 communities, feeding 4,000 pe<strong>op</strong>le.<br />
North of Lismore, in the Hawkesbury<br />
Nepean area and Richmond Valley,<br />
CivicRisk Mutual has also been hard<br />
at work. The mutual, which provides<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>erty protection to 26 local authorities<br />
in NSW, stepped in to ensure council and<br />
community buildings were repaired.<br />
“We provide water and sewerage<br />
services to pr<strong>op</strong>erties and the<br />
infrastructure in Richmond Valley region<br />
was severely damaged,” CEO Andrew<br />
Armitstead told <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong>. “CivicRisk<br />
Mutual works closely with the councils to<br />
get them back and <strong>op</strong>erational as soon as<br />
possible. The past 12 months have been<br />
the largest number and most expensive<br />
flood claims in our 34-year history.<br />
“We have made immediate payments<br />
to councils to get them back and running<br />
once we knew the extent of the problem<br />
so they had cash to start rebuilding and<br />
worked with them to maximise financial<br />
support from the governments as the<br />
impact to uninsured infrastructure roads,<br />
parks, etc are far greater than the council<br />
buildings we insure.”<br />
20 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
ZIMBABWE<br />
Fishing co-<strong>op</strong><br />
faces challenges from<br />
environmental crisis<br />
p Fishing boats on the shore of Lake Kariba<br />
Zimbabwe’s first women’s fishing co<strong>op</strong><br />
has seen its catches dwindle due to<br />
climate change, overfishing and decreased<br />
rainfall, the Guardian has reported.<br />
Members of the Bbindauko Banakazi<br />
Kapenta <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative told the paper their<br />
once-lucrative business on Lake Kariba<br />
has been facing challenges since 2018.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong> was set up by ten women<br />
who fish on the lake for the Tanganyika<br />
sardine, also known as kapenta. The<br />
women rotate their time on a monthly<br />
basis to make use of the co-<strong>op</strong>’s pontoon<br />
boat, which was built in 2011 by local<br />
charity the Zubo Trust and UN Women.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong> has enabled members to put<br />
their children through school and become<br />
more financially stable, but the declining<br />
catch threatens this progress.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> member Sinikiwe Mwinde said<br />
they used to catch around three tonnes<br />
of kapenta a month, but are now lucky to<br />
catch just one tonne.<br />
Merchants who buy from the women<br />
pay USD$150 (£125) for a 90kg bag of fish,<br />
but reduced catches means that the co-<strong>op</strong><br />
has fallen behind on its licence fee<br />
payments, for which it pays $300 (£251)<br />
every three months.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong> has also attempted fish<br />
farming but the project fail because they<br />
could not afford a pump or the cost of<br />
feeding the fish.<br />
The Zimbabwe National Parks<br />
and Wildlife Management Authority<br />
(Zimparks) confirmed that reduced<br />
rainfall and increased temperatures in<br />
recent years has meant that there is less<br />
algae in the lake, which kapenta feed on.<br />
Zimparks has introduced measures to<br />
bring back the fish p<strong>op</strong>ulations, such as a<br />
seven-day fishing ban over the full moon<br />
and increased enforcement of fishing laws<br />
to discourage poaching.<br />
Apex welcomes EU Czech presidency priorities<br />
With Czech Republic taking over the<br />
rotating presidency of the <strong>Co</strong>uncil of the<br />
EU in July, <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e welcomed<br />
the country’s programme for the next<br />
six months, which aims to promote<br />
solidarity with Ukraine, energy security,<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>e’s defence and economic and<br />
democratic resilience.<br />
Government backs co-<strong>op</strong> to become a digital jobs hub<br />
A Filipino co-<strong>op</strong>erative in Kabankalan City<br />
has been designated a digital jobs hub<br />
as part of a government-led programme<br />
to generate rural employment. The<br />
Kabankalan-Ilog Teachers and Employees<br />
Multi-Purpose <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative (KITEMPCO)<br />
will provide training to local residents,<br />
to enable them to gain incomes on a<br />
freelance basis.<br />
Indonesia could restrict red palm oil production to co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
Image: GettyImages<br />
The Indonesia government is considering<br />
restricting red palm oil production to<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eratives, according to a report by<br />
national news agency, Antara. Palm oil<br />
production has been a key issue recently,<br />
with the government introducing a policy<br />
that requires producers to sell a portion<br />
of their output to the local market after an<br />
earlier ban on palm oil exports.<br />
NRECA launches broadband service for US electric co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
Image: GettyImages<br />
The National Rural Electric <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Association (NRECA) has launched a<br />
service for its member electric co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
that provide broadband to members,<br />
or are considering offering it. The<br />
service includes access to new strategic<br />
communications services, education and<br />
events; focused business and technology<br />
support; and targeted advocacy.<br />
Liberian fishery co-<strong>op</strong>s receive outboard engines<br />
Image: NaFAA<br />
Members of 22 fishery co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and<br />
staff from the National Fisheries and<br />
Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) of Liberia<br />
attended a training day on maintenance<br />
of outboard engines, which had been<br />
donated by the Japanese government. The<br />
training session was delivered by Japan’s<br />
Yamaha <strong>Co</strong>rporation alongside CICA<br />
Motors from Liberia.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 21
MEET<br />
Debs McCahon<br />
CEO of the Woodcraft Folk<br />
Debs McCahon joined Woodcraft Folk in 2008 and was<br />
appointed CEO in 2020. Previously joint CEO, she has had a<br />
variety of senior roles including membership devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
manager and head of devel<strong>op</strong>ment. Her current remit<br />
includes everything from project devel<strong>op</strong>ment to finance,<br />
youth engagement and co-ordinating the forthcoming<br />
centenary celebrations of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement for<br />
children and young pe<strong>op</strong>le, founded in 1925.<br />
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE<br />
CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT?<br />
When the <strong>op</strong>portunity came up to join Woodcraft<br />
Folk I thought it was an interesting chance<br />
to combine my professional experience with<br />
my lifelong interest in the environment and<br />
sustainability. Having been involved in youth work<br />
for the whole of my career this is the only place<br />
where I have seen multiple generations engage in<br />
activity and learn something from each other. It’s<br />
very, very special.<br />
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL WORKING DAY LOOK<br />
LIKE?<br />
As CEO I do a lot of work around planning<br />
and problem solving as well as finance and<br />
fundraising issues. We closed our London office<br />
during <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 and chose not to re<strong>op</strong>en, so I work<br />
from home in Leicestershire. I spend a lot of time<br />
trying to secure the funding we need for projects<br />
to continue. Our staff are spread across the UK<br />
from Brighton up to Glasgow and I support good<br />
Sometimes we, adults, say we want<br />
to consult young pe<strong>op</strong>le when<br />
actually we tend to set the agenda.<br />
We should be working with them<br />
communication between the central organisation<br />
and residential centres so staff and volunteers<br />
are all working in the same direction. We are<br />
all still getting used to life post-<strong>Co</strong>vid and not<br />
travelling as much as we used to, but I do visit<br />
groups and branches, and network with other<br />
youth organisations. Our core senior management<br />
team includes heads of centres, members and<br />
resources, so 26 staff members in total. As CEO I<br />
oversee all that. There is really no such thing as<br />
a typical day – there are always new challenges.<br />
In two and a half weeks’ time, we will be having<br />
an international camp. My working week will be<br />
about setting things up – one of my jobs will be<br />
helping to build a solar power system bringing us<br />
the electricity for the camp!<br />
HOW CAN CO-OPS ENGAGE YOUNG PEOPLE?<br />
It is about involving young pe<strong>op</strong>le, finding<br />
out how they wish to be engaged and using<br />
communication channels they use themselves.<br />
And what do we mean by young pe<strong>op</strong>le?<br />
Listening at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress it tended to be<br />
about graduates, but from the Woodcraft Folk<br />
perspective, we are involving children as young<br />
as 10 in decision-making, helping them influence<br />
change. Our Kids Got Rights initiative is an<br />
international project bringing together partner<br />
organisations across Eur<strong>op</strong>e, raising children<br />
and adults’ awareness on children’s rights.<br />
Sometimes we, adults, say we want to consult<br />
young pe<strong>op</strong>le when actually we tend to set the<br />
agenda. We should be working with them. When<br />
you see a nine-year-old in communication with<br />
an adult it’s very empowering.<br />
22 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
HOW CAN THE CO-OP MOVEMENT HELP<br />
WOODCRAFT FOLK ACHIEVE ITS GOALS ON<br />
SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE?<br />
From the retail point of view, the co-<strong>op</strong> movement is<br />
already doing so much in terms of choices – such as<br />
changing the packaging of products to make it easy<br />
to reduce carbon footprinting – but there is still a<br />
lot of education needed. We recently launched a<br />
carbon literacy project teaching pe<strong>op</strong>le about the<br />
carbon value of choices they make. It would be<br />
really interesting to work with our retail societies to<br />
try to share some of that information. But they are<br />
already doing a really good job raising awareness.<br />
WHAT IS THE VISION OF WOODCRAFT FOLK AND<br />
HAS IT CHANGED SINCE ITS BEGINNINGS IN 1925?<br />
Some things would be very familiar to original<br />
members. We are still creating co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
communities and camping in fields – it’s important<br />
members are still being given the chance to live<br />
those co-<strong>op</strong> values in that kind of way. We do a lot<br />
more outreach work and have a strategic plan about<br />
increasing participation. We have 300 local groups,<br />
six residential centres 5,000 young members and<br />
3,000 adult volunteers. There is a lot more schoolbased<br />
and project work. In places such as Bradford<br />
and Leeds, we are working with <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Academies<br />
Trust to engage young pe<strong>op</strong>le, identifying what<br />
they want to improve in terms of green social action<br />
in their communities. We are still internationalist;<br />
our outlook on peace and justice has not changed –<br />
we have just built a new peace garden in the centre<br />
of Leeds.<br />
When we first started it was all about creating<br />
international connections after World War I so<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le had a greater understanding of each<br />
other. It has evolved into far more. There is lots of<br />
educational work and we are involved in projects<br />
like helping to build schools and creating an<br />
allotment in a refugee camp in Western Sahara.<br />
HOW DOES WOODCRAFT FOLK HELP WITH THE<br />
CHALLENGES FACING YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY?<br />
There are two very significant things we do –<br />
helping to devel<strong>op</strong> critical thinking skills by the<br />
education we offer around social change and<br />
exploring t<strong>op</strong>ics in a deeper way than simply<br />
engaging on social media or limits of the school<br />
curriculum. Woodcraft Folk is about social<br />
connections and making lifelong friendships,<br />
which is really important in supporting young<br />
members. We now proactively target schools where<br />
we are trying to ensure as many young pe<strong>op</strong>le as<br />
possible get the benefit from what we are offering.<br />
We are looking for ways we can engage children<br />
who would not traditionally come to Woodcraft<br />
Folk. There are residential camps for pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
who do not attend local groups, one for older<br />
children aged from 13 to 14 focussed on mental<br />
health. <strong>Co</strong>vid was difficult but also special. We<br />
launched Dream Big At Home, an online version of<br />
Woodcraft Folk with Zoom sessions and engaged<br />
over 12,000 young pe<strong>op</strong>le. If you had asked me<br />
at the start of the pandemic would we be able to<br />
deliver Woodcraft Folk online I would have said<br />
no – but in our first week of online singing and<br />
storytelling, over 1,500 pe<strong>op</strong>le turned up…<br />
HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO CELEBRATE THE<br />
WOODCRAFT CENTENARY IN 2025?<br />
There will be a special camp in July /<strong>August</strong><br />
2025. We h<strong>op</strong>e to host an exhibition at the<br />
Pe<strong>op</strong>le’s History Museum in Manchester sharing<br />
our banners and badges but that has yet to be<br />
confirmed. Currently, we have a working group<br />
and are consulting young members about what<br />
they wish to do. Ideas already include Guinness<br />
World Record attempts, a big sing around and a<br />
book about the history of Woodcraft Folk.<br />
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?<br />
One of the best parts is seeing pe<strong>op</strong>le who maintain<br />
contact with individuals for decades. I have heard<br />
many stories of volunteers now in their 70s and<br />
80s who are still in touch. One of the lovely things<br />
about being here so long is watching children<br />
grow up into young leaders. We are about to go on<br />
international camp for 2,500 children, which will<br />
be a real launch pad. It should have happened<br />
in 2020 and was delayed because of <strong>Co</strong>vid and it<br />
will be wonderful to see those young volunteers<br />
working together and empowering each other.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 23
YOUR VIEWS<br />
Celebrating the International Day of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
pioneers of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement,<br />
was born here in Ipswich, in Lower Brook<br />
Street, in 1786.<br />
I’m proud to see Ipswich Borough<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil flying the International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
Alliance flag from the Town<br />
Hall. When I was elected mayor, I said<br />
that community and co-<strong>op</strong>eration would<br />
be my mayoral theme.<br />
Here in Ipswich, many thousands of<br />
residents are members, that is owners,<br />
of local co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and share in their<br />
success.<br />
I am a Labour and <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative councillor,<br />
serving this year as mayor of Ipswich, as<br />
well as being a director of East of England<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Society. This year, for the<br />
first time ever, I was able to get the ICA<br />
flag flying from Ipswich Town Hall on the<br />
International Day of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives.<br />
Ipswich has a long history of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration. East of England <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> has<br />
served Ipswich pe<strong>op</strong>le for more than<br />
150 years; it was founded as the Ipswich<br />
Industrial <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Society on 3<br />
March 1868. William King, one of the early<br />
John <strong>Co</strong>ok, mayor of Ipswich<br />
Have your say<br />
Add your comments to our stories<br />
online at thenews.co<strong>op</strong>, get in<br />
touch via social media, or send us<br />
a letter. If sending a letter, please<br />
include your address and contact<br />
number. Letters may be edited and<br />
no longer than 350 words.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong>, Holyoake<br />
House, Hanover Street,<br />
Manchester M60 0AS<br />
letters@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
@co<strong>op</strong>news<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>News</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Women’s Voices is a series<br />
of conversations with women,<br />
who will share what has motivated<br />
them, what the challenges have<br />
been, and who has supported<br />
them along the way.<br />
HEATHER ROBERTS<br />
Vice-chair of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Heritage Trust<br />
24.08.<strong>2022</strong><br />
l 10am BST<br />
PAULINE GREEN<br />
Former MEP, former chief executive of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK and former president of<br />
the International <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Alliance<br />
21.09.<strong>2022</strong><br />
l 12 - 1.30pm BST<br />
bit.ly/3sHDKOg<br />
24 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
COMMENT<br />
‘The profit motive does not sit well with care of any kind’<br />
These are the words of Greater Manchester<br />
mayor Andy Burnham, at a session on<br />
care and co-<strong>op</strong>eratives at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress.<br />
They will resonate with many pe<strong>op</strong>le: care<br />
workers, those being cared for, families<br />
and friends; especially when they come<br />
from a former health secretary.<br />
Why do care and profit collide, and can<br />
we do anything about it?<br />
This is not a new t<strong>op</strong>ic – a recent<br />
Guardian editorial poses a similar<br />
question – but it might be helpful to look at<br />
it in a new way. Every business, whatever<br />
goods or services it provides, needs<br />
three things: customers, a workforce,<br />
and finance. If any of these becomes<br />
unavailable, it will collapse. Plus, workers<br />
need jobs, many pe<strong>op</strong>le need care, and<br />
finance craves a profit. They all need and<br />
cannot survive without each other.<br />
But they are also in tension with each<br />
other. Customers want to pay less or<br />
have better products for the same or less<br />
money; workers want to be paid more and<br />
have better terms and conditions; and<br />
finance wants a greater reward for the<br />
risks it is taking.<br />
There are two ways of addressing these<br />
inherent tensions.<br />
The first way, the route most<br />
economies have taken, is to assume<br />
that those three interests must always<br />
compete with each other. So legal<br />
arrangements (companies, contracts,<br />
intellectual pr<strong>op</strong>erty) are designed on<br />
the basis of competition, which provides<br />
a mechanism for trade. This generally<br />
results in capital being the owner of<br />
enterprise, with no place or voice for<br />
customers or workers in the ownership<br />
and governance arrangements. It<br />
institutionalises the tension. Capital<br />
seeks to reward capital; competition is<br />
for the private benefit of its owners. This<br />
is where and why care and profit collide.<br />
All forms of care sit uncomfortably with<br />
the profit motive because giving is at the<br />
heart of care, and you cannot give while<br />
locked into competing for private benefit.<br />
But there is another way of addressing<br />
the tension: getting capital, labour and<br />
custom to collaborate with each other,<br />
rather than compete, treating all three<br />
interests (and other external ones) fairly.<br />
p Andy Burnham speaking at the <strong>2022</strong> UK <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>Co</strong>ngress<br />
All forms of care sit<br />
uncomfortably with<br />
the profit motive<br />
because giving is at<br />
the heart of care<br />
This is business co-<strong>op</strong>erating for the<br />
common good, rather than competing for<br />
private gain.<br />
This approach was, and to this day<br />
remains a radical alternative. It flourished<br />
in the second half of the nineteenth<br />
century and into the twentieth. But the<br />
post-war settlement, the rise of large<br />
investor-owned businesses, and the<br />
demutualisation of most of the building<br />
society sector left mutuality as a marginal<br />
part of the business landscape.<br />
Not only is that landscape now<br />
dominated globally by investor-owned<br />
businesses trading for the private benefit<br />
of shareholders; but it has left most pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
with the firm belief that competitive<br />
behaviour is the only possible basis for<br />
business, and that co-<strong>op</strong>eration and<br />
mutuality are quaint ideas whose time<br />
has passed.<br />
The apparently unshakeable belief in<br />
competition and “the market” has resulted<br />
in the privatisation of many public<br />
services and left us with a care system<br />
locked into arrangements designed to<br />
produce economic outcomes, rather than<br />
care. That’s crazy, and wrong. Can it be<br />
changed?<br />
In recent years various things have<br />
shaken the belief in competition: the<br />
financial crisis of 2007/8; the climate<br />
crisis; and social inequality. But we still<br />
fail to address the source of the problem<br />
and continue to treat the symptoms.<br />
It isn’t just care that is incompatible<br />
with a competitive approach. In an<br />
increasingly crowded planet with limited<br />
resources, humanity cannot afford to<br />
stand by and watch competition for private<br />
gain dominate the world of enterprise or<br />
international relations.<br />
There is another possible basis for<br />
human society. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration for the<br />
common good urgently needs to be<br />
explored.<br />
Cliff Mills, July <strong>2022</strong><br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 25
By Alice Toomer-<br />
McAlpine and<br />
Anca Voinea<br />
Research by <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK earlier this year<br />
revealed some of the issues worrying young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le – such as poor job <strong>op</strong>portunities,<br />
mental health and data privacy. Such a range of<br />
concerns is not surprising: young pe<strong>op</strong>le are not<br />
a homogeneous group, as was pointed out at the<br />
apex body’s first National Youth Summit in July.<br />
However, there was one t<strong>op</strong>ic of interest shared<br />
by the 16-30 year olds who gathered for the event<br />
in Manchester: co-<strong>op</strong>eratives. Attendees ranged<br />
from co-<strong>op</strong> founders and members to those who<br />
had little to no prior knowledge of co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK CEO, Rose Marley, <strong>op</strong>ened<br />
the day with an apology: “I apologise that not<br />
enough young pe<strong>op</strong>le know what a co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
is, because there are solutions, and there is h<strong>op</strong>e.<br />
Part of doing this is to get that word out there but<br />
also to ask you to help us with that mission.”<br />
The day that followed included a social action<br />
worksh<strong>op</strong> led by Dan <strong>Co</strong>x, UK project manager at<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative <strong>Co</strong>llege, who warned that social<br />
action means getting used to disappointment<br />
and failure, and called on pe<strong>op</strong>le to shift gears<br />
from the long-term big picture to the immediate<br />
practical actions. “You need to be a giant,” he<br />
added. “You’ve got to have your feet on the<br />
ground and your head in the clouds.”<br />
A conversation around how that action might<br />
be coordinated was facilitated by Dr Owen Powell<br />
from the Young <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erators Network (YCN),<br />
a peer-to-peer network which supports young<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators through outreach, friendship,<br />
collaboration and knowledge sharing.<br />
Powell highlighted a need for more joinedup<br />
action around youth co-<strong>op</strong>eration, citing<br />
a “broad lack of coherence regarding youth<br />
and young co-<strong>op</strong>erators”. This, he said,<br />
includes among worker and consumer co<strong>op</strong>s<br />
– exemplified by the fact that Midcounties<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative has its own youth initiative, also<br />
called the Young <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erators Network.<br />
The session looked at where the YCN could<br />
go next – from choosing its main activities<br />
to finding ways to broaden engagement and<br />
acquire funding. Participants discussed how the<br />
YCN could help unify different strands of youth<br />
activity across the UK movement.<br />
In another worksh<strong>op</strong>, Manchester sustainable<br />
clothing co-<strong>op</strong> Stitched Up explored the fashion<br />
industry’s impact on the environment. Fashion<br />
accounts for around 10% of greenhouse<br />
emissions from human activity. The session<br />
suggested more sustainable materials, such as<br />
cotton, which has a 50% lower carbon footprint<br />
NATIONAL<br />
YOUTH SUMMIT<br />
26 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
p <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
UK’s first National<br />
Youth Summit<br />
explored how co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
provide “solutions<br />
and h<strong>op</strong>e” to young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le (Images:<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK)<br />
YOU NEED TO BE A GIANT –<br />
YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE YOUR<br />
FEET ON THE GROUND AND<br />
YOUR HEAD IN THE CLOUDS”<br />
than polyester. Participants were also given<br />
scraps of different textiles and asked to think<br />
about how these might be upcycled.<br />
Meanwhile Ben Proctor, chair of the Scottish<br />
<strong>Co</strong>‐<strong>op</strong> Party, looked at the Bill of Rights<br />
introduced to the UK Parliament in June. The<br />
bill, which repeals and replaces the existing<br />
Human Rights Act 1998, has been criticised<br />
by lawyers and campaigners for leaving some<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le vulnerable to human rights violations.<br />
Participants expressed their views on a range of<br />
issues related to the Bill, such as whether giving<br />
UK courts the final say would be good or bad<br />
or whether free speech should be limited. They<br />
also explored the impact the Bill would have on<br />
refugees, the responsibility of public bodies and<br />
impunity for the armed forces.<br />
The day also featured a worksh<strong>op</strong> with the<br />
Woodcraft Folk, a session on community shares,<br />
a panel discussion about transport in Greater<br />
Manchester, media training from <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />
and a look at student housing co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
The summit ended with a panel including<br />
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. In<br />
response to the session’s first question, ‘does<br />
democracy work in the UK?’, his answer was,<br />
in short, no. “Our system hands power to an<br />
incredibly small number of pe<strong>op</strong>le who <strong>op</strong>erate<br />
in and around Downing Street and the centre of<br />
government,” he said, arguing that around 100<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le in Westminster run the country.<br />
But Hannah Birch, chief <strong>op</strong>erations officer<br />
at Revolver <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>, believes politics is not the<br />
only space where democracy can be practiced<br />
“There is a place for democracy in the<br />
workplace,” she said. “I believe pe<strong>op</strong>le should<br />
work towards something that they believe in.”<br />
Birch added that democracy is at the heart<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>s, and highlighted the principle of one<br />
member, one vote.<br />
Shifting focus to local communities, Lenny<br />
Watson, founder of Sister Midnight community<br />
benefit society, advocated a grassroots approach<br />
to social change, “putting power and democracy<br />
back into the hands of ordinary working pe<strong>op</strong>le,<br />
because that’s how we’re going to rebuild wealth<br />
and power in our communities”. She encouraged<br />
the young pe<strong>op</strong>le in the room to join existing<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s – and create new ones: “if there’s a thing<br />
that you care about or think your community<br />
needs, start a damn co-<strong>op</strong> and fix it!”<br />
British Youth <strong>Co</strong>uncil trustee Sila Ugurlu said<br />
that learning about co-<strong>op</strong>s has given her h<strong>op</strong>e:<br />
“It’s so amazing to see a group of young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
that are aware of co-<strong>op</strong>s and are actively involved<br />
in them, because I think that they’re going to be<br />
one of the things that helps us in the future.”<br />
Amelia Crews, energy innovation co-ordinator<br />
at Your <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Energy, highlighted the value<br />
of youth to the co-<strong>op</strong> movement – and the<br />
movement’s duty to the next generation. “I<br />
believe that it’s the duty of the leaders in the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> space to give us access where they can<br />
– and when they can’t, for co-<strong>op</strong>eratives to<br />
empower young pe<strong>op</strong>le to speak up, because<br />
we’re not going to fight all of these crises with<br />
the same pe<strong>op</strong>le, the same thinking and the<br />
same systems that created them.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 27
Offering h<strong>op</strong>e to<br />
FUTURE<br />
GENERATIONS<br />
By Rebecca Harvey<br />
q Graphic design<br />
graduate Fabio<br />
Cawley<br />
When 25-year-old graphic design graduate Fabio<br />
Cawley joined Chapel Street Studio, a co-<strong>op</strong> of<br />
freelance creatives based in Bradford, it boosted<br />
his confidence and skills – and <strong>op</strong>ened the door<br />
to new career <strong>op</strong>portunities.<br />
“Thanks to being part of this co-<strong>op</strong>, I now see<br />
myself as a graphic designer, instead of just a<br />
graduate,” he said. “I’ve had some challenging<br />
pieces of work and I can see the progression.<br />
That makes me happy. A lot of pe<strong>op</strong>le say they<br />
like my work. You can’t get better than that.”<br />
The lack of decent work is one of several<br />
challenges affecting young pe<strong>op</strong>le in the UK<br />
– along with climate change, the economy,<br />
Brexit, social media and the aftermath of the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>vid pandemic. A lot of these issues have co-<strong>op</strong><br />
solutions, and a new report from UK sector body<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK – featuring stories like Fabio’s<br />
– is making the case for co-<strong>op</strong>eration to a wider<br />
audience.<br />
“With so much in disarray, is it possible to<br />
reach young pe<strong>op</strong>le and help them feel more<br />
secure and actively improve their lives?” it asks.<br />
The answer is a resounding yes, based on the<br />
YouGov research, evidence and case studies<br />
which form the basis of the report. The research<br />
was commissioned by <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK last year<br />
to examine the challenges faced by 16 to 25-yearolds<br />
to better understand how co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
organisations can support them now.<br />
The challenges identified by the research<br />
can broadly be grouped into four categories:<br />
mental health; decent work; social inequality<br />
and an increasing digital divide; and social and<br />
environmental problems.<br />
Mental health was the largest issue: in the<br />
survey, 76% of young women and 60% of young<br />
men have faced mental health issues, or know<br />
someone who has. Younger generations also feel<br />
socially isolated due to information overload<br />
and social media – a problem which has only<br />
been exacerbated by <strong>Co</strong>vid.<br />
“Young pe<strong>op</strong>le need to feel a sense of purpose,<br />
belonging and security,” says the report. “Mental<br />
health challenges are not an impossible situation<br />
to improve. The ownership and control co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
offer pe<strong>op</strong>le can and should make a difference.”<br />
Isaac Finn, 22, a third-year economics student<br />
at Loughborough, experience depression in his<br />
first two years. “There was stuff going on in my<br />
life but it was also about the world – <strong>Co</strong>vid, the<br />
climate crisis, everything,” he said. “I got help<br />
from my personal tutor and got counselling.<br />
Then I decided I wanted to help other pe<strong>op</strong>le.”<br />
He came up with the idea of Kocoon – now a<br />
fledgling platform co-<strong>op</strong> created to help young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le understand, manage and improve their<br />
wellbeing, through access to academic research<br />
and signposting to services.<br />
The report also highlights how a decent<br />
working environment can help mental wellbeing.<br />
28 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
THE RESEARCH FOUND<br />
THAT 40% OF 16 TO<br />
25-YEAR-OLDS HAVE<br />
FACED DISCRIMINATION<br />
IN AND OUTSIDE<br />
OF WORK<br />
Steph Rutherford, 29, found purpose and peace<br />
of mind volunteering at Village Greens co-<strong>op</strong><br />
during the pandemic.<br />
“I’ve had struggles with my mental health, so<br />
as much as it was to help out the store, it was also<br />
knowing that I would struggle to live by myself,”<br />
she said. “There’s always a positive energy in<br />
here. It still helps now ... I’ve had a long struggle<br />
with my mental health. And every day I go into<br />
work I come out feeling better, which I know is<br />
incredibly rare; knowing you’ve got a support<br />
network around you.”<br />
One key to engaging young pe<strong>op</strong>le is through<br />
their shared values, says the report. This is<br />
particularly the case with equality. Awareness<br />
of discrimination has increased in recent years<br />
as issues such as unequal pay and unacceptable<br />
behaviour in the workplace have been thrust into<br />
the spotlight alongside the Black Lives Matter,<br />
Me Too and transgender rights campaigns.<br />
“For 16 to 25-year-olds, these are more than<br />
just slogans; they’re personal challenges,” says<br />
the report. The research found that 40% of 16 to<br />
25-year-olds have faced discrimination in and<br />
outside of work, while two thirds of young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
would like to work for a more ethical employer.<br />
The research also found that groups more likely<br />
to face discrimination put greater value on<br />
ethical issues. For example, when considering<br />
careers, a diverse workforce is more important to<br />
young women (51%) than men (33%).<br />
“<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives are built on a shared set of<br />
values and principles – and young pe<strong>op</strong>le are<br />
increasingly looking for good employers who<br />
treat pe<strong>op</strong>le fairly,” the report adds.<br />
One example is web design agency Yalla<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative: with a team based in the UK,<br />
Palestine, Turkey and Germany, international,<br />
anti-prejudicial understanding is crucial.<br />
Founder member Joe Friel said: “<strong>Co</strong>untless times<br />
I’ve spoken to friends who say they’re in a toxic<br />
work culture ... but that isn’t the way co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
work. You are given a voice and allowed to bring<br />
fresh ideas – and the business benefits.”<br />
Many young pe<strong>op</strong>le see tackling climate<br />
change as being essential to building a fairer<br />
world – and half of them want more ethical<br />
employment that takes account of such issues.<br />
But more awareness of co-<strong>op</strong>s is needed if<br />
they are to fulfil their potential to meet these<br />
challenges. “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives are slowly gaining<br />
traction with younger pe<strong>op</strong>le,” says the report.<br />
“Our case studies reveal how co-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
directly combat the issues affecting younger<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le. A deeper understanding of those issues<br />
and solutions can help co-<strong>op</strong>eratives do more to<br />
transform the lives of an entire generation.”<br />
The report offers a series of recommendations:<br />
raising awareness of co-<strong>op</strong>s through<br />
curricula and careers guidance, ensuring that<br />
entrepreneurial support for young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
includes co-<strong>op</strong> <strong>op</strong>tions, and making government<br />
employment schemes more accessible to co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
It says co-<strong>op</strong>s should work harder to understand<br />
the needs and values of younger consumers<br />
and look for areas of alignment with their own<br />
value offer, while those taking action on issues<br />
like the climate emergency and social justice<br />
should prioritise youth participation. Digital<br />
engagement, communication and employment<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities (through apprenticeships, paid<br />
internships etc) should also be looked at.<br />
“Young pe<strong>op</strong>le are the future of the movement<br />
and the values of Generation Z chime with the<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative values,” the report says. “The<br />
movement offers h<strong>op</strong>e and solutions to transform<br />
and enable a fairer future for everyone.”<br />
Rose Marley, CEO of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK, said:<br />
“This is one of the most challenging times to<br />
be a young person in the UK. But there’s h<strong>op</strong>e.<br />
Ownership and control aids mental health and<br />
wellbeing significantly.<br />
“<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives allow young pe<strong>op</strong>le to thrive<br />
in an environment that provides fair wages and<br />
secure jobs, tackles climate change and provides<br />
both educational and personal devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
alongside a sense of belonging.”<br />
p Joe Friel and Steph<br />
Rutherford (left)<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 29
INTERVIEW<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation:<br />
building support for young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation is the charity of the UK’s <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group,<br />
aiming to make the organisation’s vision of ‘<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erating<br />
for a Fairer World’ a reality. One aspect of this is its work<br />
supporting young pe<strong>op</strong>le – the Foundation has awarded<br />
more than £7m in grants to tackle issues that young pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
have told them are important, such as loneliness and mental<br />
wellbeing. Ahead of International Youth Day (12 <strong>August</strong>),<br />
CEO, Nick Crofts, tells us why young pe<strong>op</strong>le are also central<br />
to the Foundation’s new strategy and vision, due to be<br />
released this autumn.<br />
HI NICK, CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE<br />
CO-OP FOUNDATION?<br />
Hi, it’s lovely to talk to <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong>! I’ve been at the<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Foundation for just over 18 months, and the<br />
time has really flown by. For those of you who may<br />
not know, we’re the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Group’s charity<br />
and we provide flexible funding to build fairer<br />
and more co-<strong>op</strong>erative communities. Over the<br />
past year and a half this has included: providing<br />
our largest single grant to date, £250k to Refugee<br />
Action; awarding £1.3m to projects tackling carbon<br />
emissions through the Carbon Innovation Fund (see<br />
<strong>News</strong>, p6); and launching a new £700k partnership<br />
with the Astra Foundation to help strengthen the<br />
youth sector.<br />
Young pe<strong>op</strong>le told us they want<br />
to inherit strong communities that<br />
celebrate and value diversity,<br />
equity and inclusion...<br />
So, it’s been quite a year of grant giving. Prior<br />
to this, readers may remember me as the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Group’s Member <strong>Co</strong>uncil president, which I was<br />
proud to serve as for six years.<br />
HOW HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR TIME AT THE CO-OP<br />
FOUNDATION SO FAR?<br />
It’s been a whirlwind, but a really fun one. I wasn’t<br />
a grant maker by trade when I arrived, so I’ve had<br />
to learn a lot and I’d like to thank my colleagues for<br />
everything they’ve done to get me up to speed. But<br />
we’ve done so much more than just deliver grants.<br />
Over the past 18 months, new expertise has come<br />
into our team, we’ve redefined what it means to be<br />
a funder with a co-<strong>op</strong>erative difference, and we’ve<br />
thought long and hard about how that relates to<br />
our internal culture, too.<br />
But, most excitingly, we’ve also been building<br />
a new strategy with co-<strong>op</strong>eration and youth voice<br />
right at the heart.<br />
WHAT IS THE NEW STRATEGY ALL ABOUT?<br />
We started working on this in July 2021 with our<br />
partners at Impact Works Associates and it’s been a<br />
truly co-<strong>op</strong>erative exercise. We’ve collaborated with<br />
Foundation colleagues, trustees, funded partners<br />
30 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
and <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Group leaders to imagine how we<br />
can best deliver on the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Group’s vision of ‘<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erating<br />
for a Fairer World’.<br />
I’m really excited that our new direction will see<br />
us fund individuals and organisations that will<br />
create future communities in 10 years’ time that are<br />
fair and built on co-<strong>op</strong>erative values.<br />
It’s bold and it’s brave, but there’s another layer.<br />
We recognise that today’s young pe<strong>op</strong>le will be the<br />
ones who will inherit the communities we h<strong>op</strong>e<br />
to build. So, we’ve been asking them what our<br />
future vision should be, and how we can turn it<br />
into reality.<br />
HOW HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE HAD THEIR SAY?<br />
Through focus groups and chats on WhatsApp.<br />
We held 10 focus groups in total, both online<br />
and in-person. The first four focus groups were<br />
<strong>op</strong>en discussions where young pe<strong>op</strong>le imagined<br />
their future communities. We then delved more<br />
deeply into the t<strong>op</strong>ics young pe<strong>op</strong>le said really<br />
mattered in the remaining sessions and through<br />
message prompts on WhatsApp. Importantly, we<br />
compensated young pe<strong>op</strong>le for their time with<br />
bursaries. Their insight is helping us, after all.<br />
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED, AND WHAT WILL THIS<br />
MEAN FOR THE FOUNDATION?<br />
We learned so much and I’m humbled by the<br />
amazing insight from all our participants.<br />
Young pe<strong>op</strong>le told us they want to inherit strong<br />
communities that celebrate and value diversity,<br />
equity and inclusion, and where pe<strong>op</strong>le work<br />
together to tackle local challenges.<br />
They also want sustainable communities full of<br />
green spaces, where infrastructure enables green<br />
living and environmentally friendly practices<br />
are supported by government and implemented<br />
by businesses.<br />
They want fair communities, where they<br />
have income stability, affordable homes and<br />
<strong>op</strong>portunities to learn and work, and they want<br />
healthy and safe communities where pe<strong>op</strong>le work<br />
together to protect well-being. And finally, young<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le want us to build future communities where<br />
they will have voice, power and influence to share<br />
their co-<strong>op</strong>erative vision.<br />
We’re going to take this learning and build it<br />
into our future work plans. We’ll also share our<br />
vision and report with other funders and charities<br />
to support their work, too. That’s the power of<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>eration.<br />
SOUNDS EXCITING. WHAT’S NEXT?<br />
We’re looking to launch our new strategy and first<br />
fund this autumn. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> readers can find out<br />
more by signing up to our blog (co<strong>op</strong>foundation.<br />
org.uk/blog) and following us on Twitter<br />
(@co<strong>op</strong>_foundation). We’d love to hear pe<strong>op</strong>le’s<br />
thoughts as well, so don’t be shy. Email us at<br />
foundation@co<strong>op</strong>.co.uk if you have any questions<br />
about our work.<br />
p The Foundation<br />
runs youth projects<br />
with partners such as<br />
Envision (t<strong>op</strong>) and the<br />
Greater Manchester<br />
Youth Network<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 31
By Anca Voinea<br />
Known for its oranges, Moorish architecture<br />
and flamenco dancing, Andalusia (in<br />
Spanish Andalucía) is the autonomous<br />
community with the largest number of co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
in Spain (over 4,000), in which the<br />
most employment is generated (59,000 jobs).<br />
On 21 June I joined other ICA General Assembly<br />
delegates on a short trip to two Andalusian co<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
The tours were organised by COCETA, the<br />
Spanish confederation of worker co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
Here we were welcomed by Francesco Garcea,<br />
the training and projects coordinator of the<br />
school. In line with Spain’s coffee culture and<br />
great hospitality, we were offered coffee and<br />
refreshments before proceeding with the visit.<br />
Garcea told us about the history of the building<br />
where the school is based – a beautiful 17th<br />
century former abbey, which served as military<br />
quarters for Napoleon’s army when it invaded<br />
Spain, before becoming a hospital.<br />
How<br />
ANDALUSIAN<br />
CO-OPERATIVES<br />
are shaping current and future leaders<br />
u The former abbey<br />
where the Social<br />
Economy School is<br />
based<br />
We left Seville at 9am, and despite it being a<br />
hot, dry summer day, the temperature was only<br />
a little over 20°C when we set off.<br />
One of the greatest advantages of attending<br />
events in person is being able to meet co<strong>op</strong>erators<br />
from around the world. While on the<br />
coach I got to catch up with old friends and make<br />
new ones.<br />
The first st<strong>op</strong> was the Social Economy School<br />
(Escuela de la Economia Social) in Osuna, a town<br />
and municipality in the province of Seville. By<br />
the time we reached the school the temperature<br />
had reached +30°C.<br />
By the 1990s the building was abandoned but<br />
Faecta, the Andalusian federation of worker co<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
has since restored it and secured the local<br />
council’s permission to use it over the next<br />
50 years. In order to benefit the region, Faecta<br />
established the social economy school for<br />
businesses in the area.<br />
“This year we are celebrating our 20th<br />
anniversary,” said Garcea. Since being set up,<br />
the school has expanded to provide courses for<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators in other regions and countries.<br />
They offer training for directors and<br />
professionals from co-<strong>op</strong>s and the wider social<br />
economy, support entrepreneurs who want to set<br />
up co-<strong>op</strong>s via a six-month incubator programme,<br />
campaign to raise awareness of the social<br />
economy via a range of events, and advocate for<br />
the sector.<br />
The school also places a strong emphasis on<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le sharing common spaces and exchanging<br />
<strong>op</strong>inions and experiences.<br />
“We believe in social learning. In addition to<br />
having a great team of trainers and educators,<br />
what makes a difference is having pe<strong>op</strong>le on the<br />
school premises while they study here,” said<br />
Garcea. “We believe that pe<strong>op</strong>le learn from one<br />
another when they are together.”<br />
As an important community space for the<br />
village, the school also hosts various events<br />
by local groups, social economy actors or<br />
political parties.<br />
32 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
The school is run by the Andalusian School<br />
of Social Economy Foundation, whose trustees<br />
include representatives of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative and<br />
social economy sector.<br />
With time being limited we were not able to<br />
stay in Osuna for too long. We were soon back<br />
on the coach making our way to the Al Jarafe<br />
<strong>Co</strong>llege in Mairena del Aljarafe, a municipality<br />
in the province of Seville.<br />
Established in 1970, the college is run by a<br />
workers’ co-<strong>op</strong>erative owned by its teachers<br />
and employees. It has over 2,000 students<br />
and it <strong>op</strong>erates based on three main pillars –<br />
sustainability, historical memory and pedagogic<br />
innovation.<br />
This includes educating pupils on the meaning<br />
of freedom, looking at the country’s past and<br />
Franco’s regime and seeking to form adults that<br />
will change the world.<br />
“We think that this is the best thing we<br />
can give to them – devel<strong>op</strong>ing their critical<br />
thinking,” said one of the teachers at the college<br />
who showed us around.<br />
Another distinctive feature of the college’s<br />
pedagogic style is its emphasis on <strong>op</strong>en spaces –<br />
the building in which it is based was designed by<br />
architect Antonio Miró in such a way to ensure<br />
all classes are in <strong>op</strong>en spaces, including via an<br />
<strong>op</strong>en space amphitheatre.<br />
Sustainable initiatives include planting trees<br />
and installing solar panels.<br />
Pupils get involved in deciding what interests<br />
to pursue and teachers help them achieve their<br />
ambitions by designing classes that suit them.<br />
They are also given books, learning materials<br />
and stationary supplies, which they have to<br />
share. In doing so, they learn to work together<br />
and manage supplies. <strong>Co</strong>urses include drama,<br />
painting and music classes.<br />
The co-<strong>op</strong>erative employs 70 pe<strong>op</strong>le, 58 of<br />
whom are members. Any teachers can join if<br />
they pass a selection process.<br />
Meanwhile, surpluses are reinvested into the<br />
school for the benefit of the local community.<br />
Parents do not have to pay a fixed tuition fee<br />
but instead contribute as much as they want<br />
to the school. This enables those from less well<br />
off families to study at the school. The college<br />
has students of different backgrounds, bringing<br />
together those from disadvantaged areas and<br />
those from affluent neighbourhoods.<br />
Some funding comes from the government,<br />
which pays for the teachers’ salaries. The college<br />
also runs its own foundation, through which it<br />
is able to attract additional funding. And there<br />
is an association of parents, which also makes<br />
donations.<br />
Another way the co-<strong>op</strong> is trying to attract<br />
money is by holding events – it recently<br />
organised a jazz festival, which attracted the<br />
attention of local personalities.<br />
With pupils starting at the school at the age<br />
of three, the college plays a key role in forming<br />
them, particularly those who choose to stay with<br />
the school until they are 18.<br />
Our visit ended with a tour of the classes<br />
and common areas, following which we got<br />
back on the coach – this time heading to the<br />
conference venue.<br />
The visits were an eye-<strong>op</strong>ening experience –<br />
showing what can be achieved when there is a<br />
strong co-<strong>op</strong>erative culture and support from the<br />
local co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement.<br />
THE COLLEGE<br />
IS RUN BY A<br />
WORKERS’<br />
CO-OPERATIVE<br />
OWNED BY ITS<br />
TEACHERS AND<br />
EMPLOYEES<br />
p (Clockwise from<br />
t<strong>op</strong> left) Classes often<br />
take place outside;<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators visiting the<br />
college; the college has<br />
an <strong>op</strong>en space layout<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 33
PLAYGROUND FOR<br />
THE NEW ECONOMY<br />
By Alice Toomer-<br />
McAlpine and<br />
Rebecca Harvey<br />
q Left: Dr Dianne<br />
Regisford, Cllr Jabu<br />
Nala-Hartley and<br />
Simon Grove-White<br />
(Image: Rebecca<br />
Harvey); Right: The<br />
festival took place at<br />
Selgars Mill in Devon<br />
– sponsors included<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncils Innovation<br />
Network (CCIN) and<br />
the <strong>Co</strong>nfederation of<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Housing<br />
(CCH) (Image: Peter<br />
Millson/Stir to Action)<br />
On land surrounding the 19th century Selgars<br />
Mill in Devon’s Culm Valley, a group of thinkers,<br />
changemakers and co-<strong>op</strong>erators gathered for<br />
three days of sharing and learning around the<br />
idea of the “new economy”.<br />
Offering a blend of discussions, worksh<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
wellbeing activities, live music and spoken word,<br />
Stir to Action’s annual festival, Playground for<br />
the New Economy, gave attendees a chance to<br />
step out of their regular routines and connect<br />
with nature and one another to learn, share and<br />
reflect on what a new economy could look like,<br />
and how we might get there.<br />
The festival’s talks and worksh<strong>op</strong>s ranged<br />
from practical examples of the new economy in<br />
action, to broad academic debates that offered a<br />
context to place those case studies in.<br />
In his talk, entitled The End of ‘the End of<br />
History’: Politics in the twenty-first century?,<br />
George Hoare outlined a historical backdr<strong>op</strong> for<br />
some of the ideas being explored at the festival.<br />
He argued that the period between 1989 and<br />
2016 had been marked by a depoliticisation of<br />
society, until this system broke down amid the<br />
events of Brexit and Trumpism, leading to the<br />
period of “antipolitics” – which is where we now<br />
find ourselves.<br />
Stir to Action co-founder, Jonathan Gordon-<br />
Farleigh, also explored this, looking at how efforts<br />
to take economics outside politics has “created<br />
some paradoxical alliances and interventions,<br />
such as efforts to make capitalism more creative or<br />
conscious or compassionate” – which in his view<br />
“is only exacerbating the crisis of democracy”.<br />
But he believes there are reasons to be<br />
<strong>op</strong>timistic. Gordon-Farleigh described recent<br />
efforts to position the new economy within the<br />
wider political economy “by overturning the depoliticisation<br />
of our work [and] understanding<br />
that what we do sits within complex<br />
relationships between the individual and the<br />
local and national economy”.<br />
The festival presented real life examples of<br />
the new economy in action, from community-led<br />
housing and socially just food systems to worker<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s and democratic finance. Over the three<br />
days, conversations on how such projects grow<br />
and devel<strong>op</strong> focused on three main areas: the<br />
need for funding, physical space, and time for<br />
projects to grow and devel<strong>op</strong>.<br />
34 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
Intertwined with these seeds of what a new<br />
economy might look like were conversations<br />
about how it can grow as a whole. In many cases,<br />
the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ were inextricable.<br />
For example, in a session on education, Dr<br />
Kiri Langmead, senior lecturer at Nottingham<br />
Business School, highlighted how “<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
education is as much about the way we teach as<br />
what we teach.” Despite being a key principle<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>eration, it was acknowledged that co<strong>op</strong><br />
education is severely lacking in the UK –<br />
particularly in conventional business education,<br />
which generally ignores co-<strong>op</strong>s.<br />
The need for greater, more joined up<br />
collaboration among institutions and with<br />
communities was also explored, with examples<br />
from London, Totnes, Oxford and more.<br />
In one session, Dr Dianne Regisford, Cllr<br />
Jabu Nala-Hartley and Simon Grove-White<br />
described how Owned by Oxford is linking with<br />
the city council to build community wealth<br />
from the ground up, through the intersection<br />
of institutions, education and problem solving.<br />
In the Barton area of the city, fuel poverty is<br />
exacerbated by low-quality, badly insulated<br />
housing. In response, the Barton retrofit co-<strong>op</strong><br />
is working with local tradespe<strong>op</strong>le to identify<br />
houses to retrofit – while training local pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
in those trades at the same time. “It empowers<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le to be part of doing something about their<br />
environment,” said Nala-Hartley.<br />
Housing, the environment, leadership and<br />
diversity were all on the agenda, as was placebased<br />
action. A session called Empowering<br />
places furthest from power shared insights from a<br />
five-year Power to Change-funded project, which<br />
supported existing community organisations<br />
acting as catalysts for new community businesses<br />
in six areas. Place-based investment manager<br />
at Power to Change, Bonnie Hewson, said her<br />
key takeaway from the project was to “not<br />
underestimate the ambition, grit and political<br />
savvy of the organisations <strong>op</strong>erating in areas<br />
branded as deprived by the establishment”.<br />
Ed Whitelaw, head of enterprise and<br />
regeneration for Real Ideas, one of Empowering<br />
Places’ community anchors based in Plymouth,<br />
said the economic challenges facing the city<br />
mean there is already an appetite for change,<br />
making it fertile ground for such work.<br />
This sentiment was reflected in a session on<br />
community tech, and how it is working in social<br />
care, food delivery and local media. Fergus<br />
Arkley, digital innovation manager at Power<br />
to Change, explained that community tech<br />
initiatives have often come out of crises – “when<br />
something has gone wrong, or something isn’t<br />
right, or things are collapsing”.<br />
The importance of emotional work was<br />
recognised in a number of conversations during<br />
the festival, such as a panel on Family Farm<br />
Succession and <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Ownership. Sebastian<br />
Parsons, founder of Stockwood <strong>Co</strong>mmunity<br />
Benefit Society which owns Rush Farm in<br />
Worcestershire, said: “Land is an emotional<br />
thing. Pe<strong>op</strong>le make emotional relationships with<br />
land. And family farmers, generally speaking,<br />
are not very versed in communicating their<br />
feelings. So when you’re building a project team,<br />
you do need financial expertise and pe<strong>op</strong>le who<br />
can galvanise that community, but you also need<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le who are emotionally intelligent, who can<br />
understand what’s actually going on.”<br />
There was also an acknowledgement of<br />
the emotional toll of working in social and<br />
community sectors. “What we’re experiencing<br />
on the ground is sheer exhaustion,” said one<br />
attendee. “We need safe spaces such as this to<br />
connect with like-minded activists.”<br />
The emotional connection with the big<br />
ideas being discussed at the festival, and the<br />
wellbeing of attendees, was addressed through<br />
a combination of physical and wellbeing<br />
activities, from one-to-one personal support and<br />
solidarity sessions to a games area and sauna,<br />
exercise sessions and live entertainment.<br />
The setting, discussions, debates, worksh<strong>op</strong>s<br />
and representation (both in terms of speakers<br />
and festival-goers) reflected the kind of economy<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement has long advocated<br />
– where value is considered differently.<br />
“The new economy is about trust,” said Tom<br />
Carman from Stir to Action and Shared Assets.<br />
“It’s about building structures, processes and a<br />
culture where we all trust one another. So it’s<br />
about trust – and kindness.”<br />
THE NEW<br />
ECONOMY<br />
IS ABOUT<br />
BUILDING<br />
STRUCTURES,<br />
PROCESSES<br />
AND A<br />
CULTURE<br />
WHERE<br />
WE ALL<br />
TRUST ONE<br />
ANOTHER<br />
p Festival-goers at<br />
the <strong>2022</strong> Playground<br />
for the New Economy<br />
(Image: Peter Millson/<br />
Stir to Action)<br />
Watch the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>News</strong> videos from<br />
the festival at<br />
bit.ly/3omwiqD<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 35
THE <strong>2022</strong> WORLD<br />
CREDIT UNION<br />
CONFERENCE<br />
By Anca Voinea<br />
p Rafal Matusiak<br />
speaking at the<br />
World Credit Union<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
Over 1,600 credit union practitioners met in Glasgow<br />
last month for the annual conference of the World<br />
<strong>Co</strong>uncil of Credit Unions (Woccu), hosted this year<br />
by the Association of British Credit Unions (Abcul).<br />
Welcoming delegates, Woccu chair Rafal<br />
Matusiak (Poland) talked about the huge<br />
challenges facing the world, from the <strong>Co</strong>vid-19<br />
pandemic to remote work and the war in Ukraine<br />
– with delegates holding a minute’s silence in the<br />
memory of those killed in the conflict.<br />
Matusiak said global challenges mean credit<br />
unions are more important than ever. “No<br />
technology can replace real community,” he added.<br />
“Thank you for being there.”<br />
He also acknowledged the role of credit unions<br />
in the Solidarity movement in Poland, which led to<br />
the fall of its communist regime. The Polish credit<br />
union sector is celebrating its 30th anniversary.<br />
Abcul president Paul Norgrove thanked credit<br />
unions for their response to <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 and for<br />
supporting their members. “You and your teams<br />
proved the co-<strong>op</strong>erative service strong,” he said.<br />
Norgrove is an alumnus of Woccu’s Young<br />
Credit Union Professionals (Wycup) scholarship<br />
programme, and talked about the need to invest in<br />
new talent, support the next generation of credit<br />
union leaders and encourage those leaders to share<br />
their knowledge.<br />
Glasgow city councillor Bailie James Scanlon<br />
highlighted his council’s work to encourage young<br />
savers to use credit unions, by giving them £10<br />
savings accounts, and Mike Reuter, executive<br />
director of Woccu’s Worldwide Foundation for Credit<br />
Unions, provided an overview of the organisation’s<br />
Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund, which<br />
has to date raised US$1.4m (€1.3m, £1.1m) from<br />
over 1,600 donors. The fund will be used to support<br />
immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts.<br />
“To our fund donors and their institutions, thank<br />
you,” said Reuter. “Even amid war, credit unions<br />
stand strong, serving as financial first responders<br />
to those in need.”<br />
Addressing the conference via video message, the<br />
deputy governor of the National Bank of Ukraine,<br />
Sergiy Nikolaychuk, talked about the challenges<br />
faced by the country’s 190 credit unions. He said<br />
the bank has ad<strong>op</strong>ted a new law on credit unions<br />
to expand the list of pe<strong>op</strong>le who can join and the<br />
products and services they can offer.<br />
“Today, 20 credit unions are located in the<br />
territories temporarily occupied (by Russia) since<br />
24 February, while 17 credit unions are in combat<br />
zones, and another 34 do not perform any activities<br />
because staff have evacuated,” he said, thanking<br />
representatives of the global credit union system<br />
who donated to the fund.<br />
Future-readiness<br />
“Are credit unions future-ready?” was the theme of<br />
the <strong>op</strong>ening keynote, with thought leader Ian Khan<br />
offering tips on how credit unions can prepare for<br />
the 5th industrial revolution.<br />
36 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
u (From t<strong>op</strong>)<br />
Belinda Parmar, Ian<br />
Khan and Keren Elazari<br />
Predicting a coming era where artificial<br />
intelligence (AI) will automate everything, he<br />
encouraged credit unions to think about the impact<br />
this will have on their business.<br />
Khan is best known for creating the Future<br />
Readiness Score, an organisational metric to<br />
measure and achieve future-readiness. He told<br />
delegates that “future readiness is about adapting<br />
to change”. He also encouraged credit unions to<br />
speak to vendors and providers to figure out how<br />
algorithms can impact their services and can<br />
shorten their processes, adding that “algorithms<br />
can do wonders when it comes to customer service”.<br />
Other trends credit unions should keep an eye<br />
on are decentralisation, tokenisation and tech<br />
convergence, he said. “You need to strive to become<br />
more future-ready,” he added, advising delegates<br />
to consult the may resources available to help them<br />
assess their future-readiness.<br />
NOW IS THE<br />
TIME TO<br />
ADAPT AND<br />
EVOLVE,<br />
BUILD<br />
YOUR OWN<br />
DIGITAL<br />
IMMUNE<br />
SYSTEM, NOT<br />
TO KEEP<br />
CALM AND<br />
CARRY ON<br />
Cyber-security<br />
Delegates also heard from Keren Elazari – security<br />
analyst, author and researcher – who provided<br />
a glimpse into the future of cyber security from a<br />
friendly hacker’s perspective.<br />
“We all need to take responsibility for our<br />
security,” she told attendees, adding that <strong>Co</strong>vid-19<br />
had not slowed down cyber-security issues.<br />
Elazari warned that expanding digital universe<br />
brings more <strong>op</strong>portunities for hackers – but added<br />
there are also more tools that can help credit unions<br />
prevent such attacks.<br />
This includes Shodan, a search engine that<br />
can identity liable connected devices, and<br />
Haveibeenpawned.com, which allows pe<strong>op</strong>le to<br />
check whether their usernames and passwords<br />
have been leaked. Using a two-factor authentication<br />
makes passwords safer as does using unique,<br />
longer passwords. Ensuring applications and<br />
<strong>op</strong>erating systems are up to date also helps, while<br />
independent security researchers can assist credit<br />
unions in understand vulnerabilities.<br />
She also advocated working with friendly<br />
hackers to improve cyber-security. “Now is the<br />
time to adapt and evolve, build your own digital<br />
immune system, not to keep calm and carry on.”<br />
The importance of empathy in service<br />
What does it mean to be empathetic? And how<br />
can acting with empathy improve leadership in an<br />
organisation? These were some of the questions<br />
addressed by Belinda Parmar, CEO of the Empathy<br />
Business, in her keynote speech.<br />
“Empathy (understanding the feelings of another<br />
without necessarily sharing them) is not about<br />
talking but acting,” she said.<br />
Despite being perceived as a commercial tradeoff,<br />
empathy can be a tool to drive commercial<br />
results. Empathetic companies are able to better<br />
serve members and employees, said Parmar, while<br />
also being more profitable.<br />
Another myth around empathy is that it is an<br />
innate feature. According to Parmar, research<br />
suggests that only 50% of abilities are genetic, with<br />
the other half based on environment. This means<br />
that companies rewarding employees for being<br />
empathetic could help drive empathy within.<br />
Her advice for credit unions included avoiding<br />
corporate, dehumanising words (such as<br />
“<strong>op</strong>timise”, “mobilise” or “authorise”), and<br />
looking at customer service, recruitment and call<br />
scripts through the lens of empathy. “You have to<br />
institutionalise empathy,” she said,“You are a force<br />
for good and empathy is a big part of that. If ever<br />
the world needed pe<strong>op</strong>le like you it is now.”<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 37
FIRST STATE OF THE MOVEMENT SPEECH<br />
by Elissa McCarter LaBorde<br />
board member since 2016. She will serve as chair<br />
for a one-year term, until July 2023. Thanking<br />
delegates for the honour, she said: “I really look<br />
forward to working with you in the coming year.”<br />
Dykstra succeeds Rafał Matusiak, president of<br />
the National Association of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Savings<br />
and Credit Unions (NACSCU) of Poland, who has<br />
been serving as Woccu chair since 2020.<br />
The AGM also re-elected current Woccu board<br />
directors Manfred Dasenbrock (Brazil), Charles<br />
Murphy (Ireland), George Ototo (Kenya), Joseph<br />
Remy (Caribbean), Dallas Bergl (USA), Joe Thomas<br />
(USA) and Michael Lawrence (Australia) to twoyear<br />
terms.<br />
Newly elected Jeff Guthrie, the new president<br />
and CEO of the Canadian Credit Union Association<br />
(CCUA), will also serve a two-year term. He replaces<br />
outgoing CCUA president and CEO Martha Durdin.<br />
Awards for digital innovation<br />
p Elissa McCarter<br />
LaBorde delivers her<br />
speech (Image: Woccu)<br />
Woccu president and CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde<br />
delivered her first state of the movement address on<br />
day one of the World Credit Union <strong>Co</strong>nference.<br />
“If we really want to maximise our potential we<br />
have to focus on our strengths, we have to double<br />
down on our strengths,” she said.<br />
She said those strengths include the sheer<br />
number of credit unions and members, the diverse<br />
types of credit union, and their potential to act as<br />
disrupters in the financial services sector.<br />
“Some of you have heard this expression – you<br />
gotta go big or you gotta go home,” she added. “So,<br />
I really think we gotta go big.”<br />
McCarter LaBorde pointed out that there are still<br />
1.4 billion pe<strong>op</strong>le in the world who are unbanked<br />
– and arguably another “three billion, in the data<br />
I have seen, who are underbanked, who don’t have<br />
good financial choices and affordable credit.<br />
“That is why we are here as credit unions, with<br />
a business model that truly serves that purpose.”<br />
Annual general meeting<br />
Alongside the conference, Woccu hosted its AGM<br />
on 18 July, where Diana Dykstra was appointed the<br />
organisation’s chair.<br />
Dykstra is CEO of the California and Nevada<br />
Credit Union Leagues (USA) and has been a Woccu<br />
During the AGM, Woccu presented the <strong>2022</strong> Digital<br />
Growth Awards, first introduced in 2021.<br />
Northpark <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Credit Union (USA)<br />
received an award its Virtual Branching initiative,<br />
which was devel<strong>op</strong>ed and implemented to deliver<br />
on a goal of closing all brick-and-mortar branches<br />
in favour of e-services and ATMs.<br />
“We cannot underserve the underserved and we<br />
have to meet them where they are,” said president<br />
and CEO Carma Parrish, accepting the award. “I<br />
have so much respect for meeting pe<strong>op</strong>le where<br />
they are, not where we are.”<br />
Another award went to Sicredi (Brazil) for CPR<br />
Facil, its first 100% digital agribusiness product,<br />
which allows members to take out loans using a<br />
mobile phone.<br />
“CPR Facil is making such a difference to build<br />
a better society and also changing our members’<br />
lives. We h<strong>op</strong>e that this case can be spread to<br />
other credit unions down the road,” said Estefane<br />
Chaves, a rural credit analyst who accepted the<br />
award on behalf of Sicredi.<br />
Distinguished Service Award<br />
Woccu also presented Marshall Boutwell, president<br />
and CEO, Peach State Federal Credit Union (USA),<br />
with the <strong>2022</strong> Distinguished Service Award,<br />
recognising his long history of engagement with<br />
credit unions in Poland and Great Britain.<br />
38 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
Speaking of his experience working with credit<br />
unions in other countries, he said: “This has been<br />
the most extraordinary experience in my lifetime. It<br />
has broadened my horizons, it’s made me a better<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative leader, a better leader of my own<br />
credit union — more <strong>op</strong>en to lots of different pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
from lots of different areas. And this is indeed a<br />
great honour”.<br />
Women’s Leadership Forum and Athena Award<br />
On 16 July, Woccu’s Global Women’s Leadership<br />
Network (GWLN) Forum brought together women<br />
credit union leaders to explore a range of t<strong>op</strong>ics<br />
around leadership.<br />
Laurie Maddalena, chief leadership consultant,<br />
Envision Excellence, LLC, encouraged women<br />
credit union leaders to promote themselves and<br />
their worth in the workplace.<br />
“I like to turn to what I call my inner coach and<br />
not let my inner critic make the decisions,” she<br />
told the forum. “Our inner coach is that wiser self.<br />
I like to call it our higher self, our best self, who has<br />
our best interest in mind in helping us reach our<br />
personal and professional goals.”<br />
At the forum, McCarter LaBorde announced Patsy<br />
Van Ouwerkerk as the <strong>2022</strong> Athena Award recipient.<br />
Named after the Greek goddess who represents<br />
strength, courage and wisdom, the award is<br />
presented to an individual or organisation making<br />
an outstanding contribution to women’s leadership<br />
in the international credit union movement.<br />
Van Ouwerkerk sat on the inaugural advisory<br />
group that launched GWLN in 2009, chaired its<br />
fundraising committee chair and served as coleader<br />
of the Sacramento Sister Society.<br />
Young scholarships<br />
The Woccu Young Credit Union Professionals<br />
(Wycup) set up its scholarship programme in 2001<br />
to enable young credit union professionals to<br />
attend its conference.<br />
The programme is <strong>op</strong>en to nominees aged 40 or<br />
younger who have made significant contributions<br />
to their credit union or financial co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
system and have the potential to make a global<br />
credit union impact.<br />
The winners of the 2020 and 2021 scholarships<br />
were recognised during the final general session of<br />
the conference on 20 July.<br />
“It’s more important than ever before that we<br />
invest in our networks — that we have spaces<br />
to share and learn from one another, and in the<br />
process understand that we have more in common<br />
than our superficial differences,” said Wycup<br />
director Thomas Belekevich.<br />
“We have a shared interest in the success of<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le everywhere,” . “So today we are here to<br />
celebrate young leaders from around the world<br />
and the connections they have made through this<br />
global network that we call Wycup.”<br />
p Clockwise from t<strong>op</strong><br />
left: Carma Parrish<br />
accepts a Digital Growth<br />
Award for Northpark<br />
CCU; Marshall Boutwell;<br />
Wycup scholarships;<br />
Patsy Van Ouwerkerk;<br />
officlal recognition for<br />
the Wycup scholarship<br />
recipients<br />
(Images: Woccu)<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 39
THE CAPITAL<br />
CONUNDRUM...<br />
By Rebecca Harvey<br />
p Crédit Agricole's<br />
headquarters In<br />
Montrouge, France.<br />
Crédit Agricole is the<br />
largest co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
bank in Eur<strong>op</strong>e.<br />
(Image: Chesnot/<br />
Getty Images)<br />
...and the <strong>Co</strong>mmon Good<br />
The capital conundrum has plagued co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
for decades: how can pe<strong>op</strong>le wanting to set up<br />
member-owned organisations find the start-up<br />
capital they need when there is no – or very little<br />
– return for investors?<br />
<strong>Co</strong>mmunity share offers, GoFundMe<br />
campaigns and grants go some way to addressing<br />
this, but not to the level required for a growing,<br />
robust co-<strong>op</strong> movement, particularly in highly<br />
regulated sectors such as banking.<br />
At the <strong>2022</strong> UK <strong>Co</strong>ngress, held in Birmingham<br />
at the end of June, Tony Greenham of the Mutual<br />
Banks Association (MBA) and Cliff Mills of<br />
Anthony <strong>Co</strong>llins Solicitors shared work they have<br />
been doing in this area: attempting to devel<strong>op</strong> a<br />
new legal structure they h<strong>op</strong>e will address some<br />
of the obstacles facing any attempt to set up a<br />
genuinely co-<strong>op</strong>erative bank.<br />
“The UK banking system is weird,” said<br />
Greenham. “It’s weird because it doesn’t have<br />
socially orientated local banks when almost<br />
everywhere in the world does. I’ve been trying<br />
to set one up … it’s turned out to be quite hard.”<br />
Eur<strong>op</strong>e has 2,700 co-<strong>op</strong>erative banks with 87<br />
million members; the UK is the only G7 economy<br />
without them. This is a problem, said Greenham,<br />
because regional stakeholder banks deliver<br />
significant benefits. “They offer greater financial<br />
inclusion and do more small business and co<strong>op</strong><br />
economy lending. Where they exist there are<br />
smaller regional economic disparities – and they<br />
create more resilient economies.”<br />
The MBA is a trade association – “without any<br />
members that are actually trading yet” – formed<br />
by Southwest Mutual, Avon Mutual and Bristol<br />
Mutual with support from the Esmée Fairbairn<br />
Foundation and <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK.<br />
Why are they calling it them ‘mutual banks’<br />
rather than ‘co-<strong>op</strong>erative’? “There are a couple<br />
of reasons,” said Greenham. “Firstly, the word<br />
‘mutual’ is really familiar in financial services.<br />
And secondly, there’s a certain other UK bank<br />
with the word co-<strong>op</strong>erative in its name, which is<br />
a bit confusing, because it isn’t one, and never<br />
was one. Actually, there never have been co<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
banks in this country in the way that<br />
have been elsewhere.”<br />
Which Act to follow?<br />
Most co-<strong>op</strong>eratives in the UK are registered under<br />
the 2014 <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative and <strong>Co</strong>mmunity Benefit<br />
40 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
Society Act – but although there are some explicit<br />
provisions around banks, there are some serious<br />
problems when it comes to implementation in<br />
this sector. “The share capital that [banks] are<br />
allowed to use must be non-withdrawable and<br />
transferable,” said Greenham. “We can’t use<br />
community shares for a bank because it has to<br />
be a form of permanent capital.”<br />
He added: “The real problem we found is that<br />
with an early stage start-up, we needed to attract<br />
initial investment, which is very risky. I raised<br />
a million pounds off investors who have had<br />
to take a massive punt and they quite possibly<br />
won’t get any of that money back.<br />
“Then we’d need to raise about another £2-3m<br />
before even getting to the point where we could<br />
start trading with a banking licence. That’s also<br />
really risky money.<br />
“You also can’t simply go along to that first<br />
cr<strong>op</strong> of investors and say that they are going<br />
to get the same deal that the final investors are<br />
going to get, because nobody would invest in it.<br />
But the Financial <strong>Co</strong>nduct Authority (FCA) has<br />
confirmed that the 2014 act doesn’t allow shares<br />
issued at different prices; they have to be issued<br />
at nominal value. That’s a massive barrier.”<br />
The way the MBA tackled this barrier was to<br />
look at other registration <strong>op</strong>tions – specifically<br />
using the <strong>Co</strong>mpanies Act while also attempting<br />
to be a full mutual. “My aspiration is that it<br />
would be recognised by the co-<strong>op</strong> movement as<br />
pr<strong>op</strong>erly co-<strong>op</strong>erative,” said Greenham.<br />
He added that while financial institutions<br />
such as credit unions do good work, they “don’t<br />
really do business lending … they’re doing a<br />
different job from regional co-<strong>op</strong>erative banks”.<br />
A question of purpose<br />
The next challenge was that if the <strong>Co</strong>mpanies<br />
Act was used, how could someone make sure<br />
they didn’t end up with an organisation that<br />
defaults to maximising profit?<br />
“We needed something which is clearly<br />
different and sets it apart,” said Mills,<br />
who specialises in constitutions and legal<br />
structures.<br />
“The <strong>Co</strong>mpanies Act defines the purpose of a<br />
company as for the benefit of the shareholders<br />
as a whole, and a duty to promote the success of<br />
the company, which is for the private benefit of<br />
shareholders.<br />
“However, there is a subsection in the act<br />
which says if there is some other ‘purpose’, the<br />
duties of the directors are then to pursue that<br />
other purpose. So we’ve written into our purpose<br />
that it exists for the common good, not for the<br />
private benefit of its members. That changes the<br />
default setting of a company”.<br />
If the directors’ duties are to promote the<br />
common good, how can they be held accountable<br />
by the members? MBA’s solution is to make it a<br />
multi stakeholder organisation which recognises<br />
that workers, customers and investors all have<br />
legitimate interest in its success.<br />
The model pr<strong>op</strong>oses three classes of<br />
membership; only one of them, the investor<br />
shares, will actually be used for attracting<br />
capital, while the worker and customer shares<br />
are there to defer voting rights.<br />
The next challenge was how to embed<br />
democratic governance in such an entity –<br />
when, by the regulator’s decree, the board must<br />
be selected for their skills in running a bank.<br />
“There is no space for directly elected member<br />
representatives on the board at the moment,”<br />
said Greenham. “It might be possible in the<br />
future, but we’re trying to do a lot of new and<br />
regulators don’t like new.”<br />
Their solution is to devel<strong>op</strong> a members’<br />
council system – 20 or so members elected in<br />
“a vibrant democratic process” that “get up<br />
close and personal with what their managers are<br />
doing, and hold them to account”.<br />
Mills believes this is groundbreaking. “We’re<br />
creating a plc that will attract investment – but<br />
not for the purpose of maximising the benefit for<br />
those investors – because of this new purpose,<br />
and also because those investors will not have<br />
complete control as there are other member<br />
classes and it’s one member, one vote.”<br />
EUROPE<br />
HAS<br />
2,700 CO-<br />
OPERATIVE<br />
BANKS<br />
WITH 87<br />
MILLION<br />
MEMBERS;<br />
THE UK<br />
IS THE<br />
ONLY G7<br />
ECONOMY<br />
WITHOUT<br />
THEM<br />
p Tony Greenham<br />
(left) and Cliff Mills<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 41
By Miles Hadfield<br />
US credit unions ramp<br />
up bank acquisitions<br />
With turbulent economic forces<br />
piling pressure on small financial<br />
institutions, consolidation is a growing<br />
trend in the US financial services sector. While<br />
this has brought many mergers between credit<br />
unions, another outcome is the record number<br />
of purchases of banks by credit unions.<br />
The emphasis is still on consolidation within<br />
the sector: the National Credit Union Association<br />
Credit Union, told delegates that mergers,<br />
acquisitions and private partnerships are a<br />
valuable mechanism for US credit unions to<br />
grow the scale and the raise capital they need<br />
to keep up with digitisation and increasingly<br />
competitive markets.<br />
He said his credit union has already bought<br />
one small single-site bank and is preparing<br />
to buy another, as part of a strategy that<br />
includes devel<strong>op</strong>ing a crypto-currency <strong>op</strong>tion,<br />
partnerships with fintechs, devel<strong>op</strong>ing holding<br />
companies and sharing back office functions<br />
with other credit unions.<br />
But it is important to plan things pr<strong>op</strong>erly and<br />
find the right bank to buy, he warned. “You have<br />
BUYING TO GET BIG<br />
q Orion Federal<br />
Credit Union in<br />
Memphis is going<br />
to court over its<br />
attempted bank<br />
acquisition (Image:<br />
Orion FCU)<br />
(NCUA) says there have been 900 mergers from<br />
2016 to 2020. But S&P Global figures show that<br />
13 banks were acquired by credit unions in 2021,<br />
and industry observers such as Michael Bell,<br />
finance expert at Detroit law firm Honigman,<br />
expects at least 25 more such deals this year.<br />
“My prediction is based on the work and deal<br />
flow I am seeing,” he told American Banker. “I<br />
spend most of my time working on these deals,<br />
and I have never seen so much activity.”<br />
Bank purchases are a strategy highlighted by<br />
US credit union representatives at the recent<br />
Association of British Credit Unions (Abcul)<br />
conference. Eric Broome, from Georgia’s Own<br />
to have a strategy. You can’t just do it willy nilly<br />
… you have to assess strengths and weaknesses<br />
to find the right partners, and make sure it’s a<br />
collaborative process.”<br />
Other examples from the sector include<br />
acquisitions by GreenState Credit Union of North<br />
Liberty, Iowa, of four banks in 2020 and 2021,<br />
and two bank purchases by Orlando, Florida’s<br />
Fairwinds Credit Union – moves which, the<br />
credit unions say, deliver new product lines,<br />
expanded memberships, asset growth, efficiency<br />
and infrastructure such as ATM networks.<br />
This trend has prompted howls of protest from<br />
the US banking sector – which already has its<br />
knives sharpened for credit unions over their taxexempt<br />
status. Credit union apex bodies such as<br />
the National Association for Federally Insured<br />
Credit Unions (Nafcu) have been defending this<br />
for several years against an aggressive campaign<br />
from the banking lobby.<br />
Banks have been bringing legal challenges to<br />
individual credit union acquisitions, with tussles<br />
in Nebraska, <strong>Co</strong>lorado, Iowa and Tennessee –<br />
where a court battle is raging over a pr<strong>op</strong>osed<br />
purchase by Orion Federal Credit Union of<br />
Memphis-based Financial Federal Bank, which<br />
has assets of US$818m (£683m).<br />
In November 2021, Davidson <strong>Co</strong>unty Chancery<br />
<strong>Co</strong>urt Judge Patricia Moskal placed an injunction<br />
on the deal, while she assessed the implications<br />
of the Tennessee Banking Act.<br />
At the end of May, Moskal lifted this, ruling<br />
that the act allowed the purchase because the<br />
42 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
credit union is acquiring the bank’s assets, not<br />
its charter or stock.<br />
But the state regulator, the Tennessee<br />
Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI),<br />
which <strong>op</strong>poses the deal, has struck back, filing an<br />
appeal at the end of June to overturn the ruling.<br />
Moskal, in her ruling, said the TDFI has<br />
approved similar transactions when the acquirer<br />
was a state-chartered or out-of-state bank. “The<br />
legislature could have included a limitation on<br />
the types of entities permitted to purchase the<br />
assets of a state-chartered bank, but it did not do<br />
so,” she wrote.<br />
But submitting his appeal against Moskal’s<br />
ruling on 14 June, TDFI <strong>Co</strong>mmissioner Greg<br />
Gonzales argued that Financial Federal account<br />
holders would be “irreparably harmed and<br />
disrupted” by the deal, along with the state’s<br />
banking system.<br />
The Tennessee Bankers Association is also<br />
hostile to the deal. In a blog post, its president/<br />
CEO <strong>Co</strong>lin Barrett wrote: “Unfortunately these<br />
deals have been on the rise around the country<br />
in recent years.” He said Financial Federal<br />
is “a strong, well respected Memphis bank”<br />
while Orion, which “began as a small credit<br />
union whose mission was to serve teachers in<br />
Memphis” had used “its tax advantaged status<br />
and weak regulatory oversight to grow to a<br />
position where it can acquire a $750m bank”.<br />
Barrett accused Orion of abandoning its<br />
“desire to serve pe<strong>op</strong>le of modest means” with a<br />
move that would turn it into a near $2bn financial<br />
institution. “Bank acquisitions by credit unions<br />
have fuelled passionate discussions by the TBA<br />
board over recent years,” he added. “There is<br />
debate about whether these acquisitions should<br />
be prohibited in statute, even if they already<br />
are. And there is discussion around what can<br />
be done at the state and local level to rein in<br />
credit unions.<br />
“But whatever we do on the state level will<br />
continue to pale in comparison to the work<br />
that needs to be done in <strong>Co</strong>ngress. Whether it<br />
is credit unions buying banks, expanding their<br />
business lending or <strong>op</strong>ening their membership<br />
to anyone who can fog a mirror, the part I find<br />
most frustrating is the blind eye turned by<br />
members of <strong>Co</strong>ngress.”<br />
Nafcu has been among the credit union<br />
bodies working to fend off such attacks from<br />
the banking sector. In a briefing note, it says:<br />
“Mergers between credit unions and community<br />
banks are not new and have occurred over the<br />
last decade as the rate of financial institution<br />
consolidation has increased.<br />
“Overwhelming compliance burdens and<br />
costs since financial crisis and enactment of the<br />
Dodd-Frank Act have made it harder to survive<br />
as a community bank or credit union. This has<br />
caused financial industry consolidation, which<br />
has led to fewer and fewer merger <strong>op</strong>tions.”<br />
It says regulatory relief for community<br />
institutions would help slow the consolidation<br />
trend, adding that mergers between banks and<br />
credit unions “represent a tiny percentage of<br />
overall mergers in the financial services sector”.<br />
These mergers are “typically a win-win”,<br />
argues Nafcu: while credit unions get to expand,<br />
local pe<strong>op</strong>le see the protection of communityfocused<br />
financial services, local jobs and<br />
branches, which might be lost through a sale<br />
to a national bank. “Credit union-community<br />
bank mergers often mean employees retain jobs<br />
and branches remain <strong>op</strong>en with a focus on the<br />
members in the community,” it argues.<br />
“Big banks, on the other hand, are focused<br />
on profits and making money from a merger. A<br />
look at the financial health of community banks<br />
that have recently merged with credit unions<br />
shows that those institutions are generally lessprofitable,<br />
and thus less attractive, as potential<br />
merger partners for larger for-profit banks.”<br />
But the road to mergers remains rocky. As well<br />
as <strong>op</strong>position from the banking sector, hurdles<br />
include the time it can take to complete a deal.<br />
And regulator the National Credit Union<br />
Administration caps business loan rates for<br />
credit unions at 12.25% which is a bar against<br />
buying a bank with a large commercial portfolio.<br />
Credit unions also face regulatory questions<br />
over how bank customers fit into their field of<br />
membership, if carried over as members.<br />
One example which shows the challenges that<br />
face the sector is recent attempt by Jacksonville,<br />
Florida-based VStar Credit Union to merge with<br />
Georgia community bank Heritage Southeast<br />
which was – called off in June after the boards<br />
of both organisations decided there was no<br />
“clear path forward to obtaining the regulatory<br />
approvals needed for closing”.<br />
CREDIT<br />
UNION-<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
BANK<br />
MERGERS<br />
OFTEN MEAN<br />
EMPLOYEES<br />
RETAIN<br />
JOBS AND<br />
BRANCHES<br />
REMAIN<br />
OPEN<br />
p Eric Broome and<br />
Nickolas Kitchens of<br />
Georgia’s Own Credit<br />
Union talk mergers at<br />
the Abcul conference<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 43
Campaign launched to<br />
BRING THE UNION<br />
CO-OP MODEL<br />
TO THE UK<br />
meeting <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> put some questions to the<br />
group, with answers compiled by Anita Mangan,<br />
from the University of Bristol.<br />
YOU ARE LOOKING TO SEE MORE WORKER<br />
CO-OP CONVERSIONS WITH UNION SUPPORT.<br />
HOW DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE THIS?<br />
By Miles Hadfield<br />
p <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Cincy has<br />
been devel<strong>op</strong>ing the<br />
union co-<strong>op</strong> model in<br />
Cincinnati, Ohio<br />
An organisation has been formed to try to build a<br />
new wave of fully unionised worker co-<strong>op</strong>s “that<br />
have unions at the core of their democracy”.<br />
Union-co<strong>op</strong>s:uk says it wants to encourage<br />
mutually beneficial collaboration between the<br />
union and co-<strong>op</strong> movements through the union<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> model – which has already been put<br />
to work in parts of the US, such as Cincinnati,<br />
Ohio. “We believe the union co-<strong>op</strong> model is a<br />
powerful tool to counter mainstream economic<br />
narratives,” they say. “It is a living example that<br />
another way is possible.”<br />
The group held a meeting at Wortley Hall,<br />
near Sheffield, in May – with participants Andy<br />
Birchall, <strong>Co</strong>lm Massey, Cilla Ross, Alex Bird, Mick<br />
McKeown, Martin Strube, Gareth Crockett, John<br />
Merritt, Simon Taylor, Chris Croome, Graham<br />
Mitchell, Fredy Velez, Anita Mangan, Niall<br />
Mulholland, Siôn Whellens, Miguel Martínez-<br />
Lucio, Cath Muller and Sarah Woolley. After the<br />
Union-co-<strong>op</strong>s exist elsewhere in the world but<br />
we need one in the UK as ‘proof of concept’.<br />
This means working together with a trade union,<br />
a co-<strong>op</strong>erative, and co-<strong>op</strong>erative and union<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment experts and organisers. This union<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> could then offer a flexible template for<br />
union supported worker co-<strong>op</strong> conversions.<br />
There is some work to be done to work out<br />
how to make that argument to the trades unions,<br />
who pass all the ICA principles and who share<br />
similar values and principles with co-<strong>op</strong>erators.<br />
Importantly, we need to allay the understandable<br />
fears of trade unions that co-<strong>op</strong>eratives are not<br />
about driving a mutual agenda. In other words,<br />
we need to reassure unions that union co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
are not privatisation by stealth. At the same time<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erators need to be encouraged to explore<br />
the benefits of being unionised.<br />
WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST STEPS?<br />
Union-co<strong>op</strong>s:uk is a campaigning organisation<br />
which has spent the past few years raising<br />
awareness about the benefits of the union co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model. In July 2020 we launched our Manifesto<br />
for Decent Work. Since then we have hosted<br />
a series of online seminars with national and<br />
international speakers, focused on different<br />
aspects of the union co-<strong>op</strong> model.<br />
Most recently, we held a residential strategy<br />
round table in Wortley Hall that explored<br />
how to devel<strong>op</strong> union co-<strong>op</strong>s in the UK. The<br />
participants included union and co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
activists who have taken on responsibility to<br />
44 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
devel<strong>op</strong> key areas such as communications,<br />
finance, democracy, education and technology.<br />
The aim is to promote the union co-<strong>op</strong>s model at<br />
the autumn conferences.<br />
HOW CAN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNION<br />
AND CO-OP MOVEMENTS BE IMPROVED?<br />
WHICH UNIONS ARE LIKELY TO BE MOST<br />
AMENABLE TO THE IDEA?<br />
There is a long history of shared activism and<br />
solidarity between co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and unions<br />
that pe<strong>op</strong>le have forgotten about. Many in both<br />
movements are committed to alternative models<br />
of ownership and control. We need to bridge<br />
the gap with new approaches, arguments and<br />
information. For example, co-<strong>op</strong>s can be part<br />
of union renewal. Unionisation in turn can offer<br />
support and organisation to co-<strong>op</strong>eratives and<br />
reduce any danger of a ‘race to the bottom’ in<br />
terms and conditions for co-<strong>op</strong>erators. They can<br />
also address in-work poverty (eg trade union<br />
credit unions). Union co-<strong>op</strong>s are a chance for<br />
renewal for both movements to address pressing<br />
social, economic and environmental crises.<br />
Education is key to bridging the gap between<br />
unions and co-<strong>op</strong>s. There have been numerous<br />
efforts over the years to get unions and co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
talking to each other. Lots of workers are<br />
scared or reluctant to of taking on management<br />
responsibilities, but the unions could encourage<br />
workers to feel able to take on those roles. We<br />
need education and support to do it.<br />
The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union<br />
(BFAWU) and Musicians’ Union have given<br />
strong support to the union co-<strong>op</strong>s model.<br />
BFAWU general secretary Sarah Woolley is<br />
actively involved in union co-<strong>op</strong> discussions and<br />
has spoken at several events. Other supportive<br />
unions include Equity and BECTU.<br />
AT THE MEETING SEVERAL PEOPLE SUGGESTED<br />
THAT CO-OPS AND UNIONS ARE 19TH CENTURY<br />
MODELS. HOW WOULD A UNION CO-OP MODEL<br />
BETTER ANSWER 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES?<br />
The 19th century models devel<strong>op</strong>ed, as social<br />
movements always do, in response to need.<br />
But the range of injustices, including in-work<br />
poverty and food security issues are problems<br />
that are still with us today. Yet while democracy,<br />
voice, participation, mutual support and<br />
equality between members are at the heart of the<br />
19th century models, the vocabulary does not<br />
necessarily translate to a 21st century audience.<br />
For example, it could be argued that worker co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
EDUCATION IS KEY TO<br />
BRIDGING THE GAP<br />
BETWEEN UNIONS<br />
AND CO-OPS<br />
are already unions (worker unions). Worker<br />
unions as a term has less baggage and we see<br />
great benefit in using this term. Language is<br />
exciting in terms of power and democracy, but<br />
needs to be used carefully.<br />
We are stuck in structures that were devel<strong>op</strong>ed<br />
200 years ago and they need to be changed. On<br />
the other hand, the bureaucratic structures have<br />
democracy built into them. Part of the problem<br />
is that 30 years of neoliberalism has meant that<br />
it is the older activists who have been holding<br />
the line. This is beginning to change as there is a<br />
yearning for some kind of socialism, very broadly<br />
defined. We are battling against the decline of<br />
terms & conditions and rise of neoliberal ideology.<br />
Education is essential as there is a wealth of<br />
historical information we can draw on.<br />
WHAT BARRIERS WOULD THE DEVELOPMENT<br />
OF THIS MODEL FACE?<br />
Apart from creating dialogue between unions<br />
and co-<strong>op</strong>s, the key barriers are legislation<br />
and education. We need to educate union<br />
activists, co-<strong>op</strong>erators, workers and business<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment agencies about the union co-<strong>op</strong><br />
model. At the same time, we also need to<br />
influence policy makers so that union co-<strong>op</strong>s<br />
are presented as a viable alternative for business<br />
start-ups and conversions.<br />
q Discussion of union<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s at Wortley Hall<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 45
WHAT’S NEXT<br />
for the Global Innovation <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Summit?<br />
By Anca Voinea<br />
In 2019 a group of co-<strong>op</strong>erators and event<br />
organisers got together to plan a new<br />
international gathering – a co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
innovation summit.<br />
The idea was born out of the need for an event<br />
to fill the gap left by the International Summit of<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives, a biennial event held in Quebec<br />
in 2012, 2014 and 2016 with the support of the<br />
Desjardins Group and the Canadian government.<br />
“Unfortunately that event could no longer take<br />
place,” says the summit’s former programme<br />
director, Joanne Lechasseur. But this was not<br />
through lack of demand: long after the event<br />
was axed, co<strong>op</strong>erators were calling her to ask if it<br />
was returning.<br />
This sowed the seeds for a new event. “We<br />
came up with the idea for the Global Innovation<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Summit,” says Lechasseur, “to<br />
respond to the need to bring together primary<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, to foster inter-co<strong>op</strong>eration and business<br />
exchanges, discuss interesting subjects and talk<br />
about innovation.”<br />
The first Global Innovation <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Summit<br />
event was held virtually in 2020, with three more<br />
online events following in 2021. A hybrid inperson/online<br />
summit will be held in Paris on 26-<br />
27 September, in English, French and Spanish.<br />
“The aim is to reflect on the co-<strong>op</strong>erative world<br />
of today and that of tomorrow,” says Jean-Louis<br />
Bancel, president of <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>eratives Eur<strong>op</strong>e, who<br />
is another of the event’s co-founders. “These<br />
are times of innovation – not only technological<br />
innovation but also social innovation and<br />
managerial innovation.”<br />
The summit will explore pressing global<br />
challenges like climate change and the tech<br />
revolution. It will not be an academic conference,<br />
adds Bancel, and it will feature experts from<br />
outside the co-<strong>op</strong>erative movement alongside<br />
well-known co-<strong>op</strong>erators, with in-person and<br />
online participants able to join the discussion.<br />
“We want the event to be as interactive as<br />
possible,” he says, adding that the hybrid format<br />
was chosen to enable pe<strong>op</strong>le from around the<br />
world, of diverse backgrounds, sectors and ages,<br />
to take part. For example, universities that buy<br />
a virtual ticket will be able to stream it in big<br />
rooms to include larger groups of students.<br />
46 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
Alongside international speakers on co<strong>op</strong>erative,<br />
social innovation and technology<br />
trends, the event will include small stages<br />
during coffee breaks with <strong>op</strong>portunities to<br />
discuss and share information; access to startup<br />
incubators; interaction with platform co-<strong>op</strong>s,<br />
a young leaders’ programme and an exhibition<br />
area for sponsors and partners.<br />
The main theme of the event is transition –<br />
and particularly generational transition – with<br />
the focus not merely on sharing knowledge with<br />
young pe<strong>op</strong>le, but involving them as participants<br />
and speakers.<br />
“It is about reciprocal learning,” says Bancel.<br />
Other summit sessions will explore how to<br />
attract and empower millennials and how to<br />
facilitate a leadership transition.<br />
The agenda also includes sessions on the role<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>s in the circular economy and meeting<br />
the SDGs, the importance of artificial and human<br />
intelligence, the potential of platform co-<strong>op</strong>s and<br />
the impact of the digital transition on different<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>erative sectors.<br />
The <strong>op</strong>ening plenary will explore how co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
– as recognised promoters of social<br />
resilience, community action, ethical values<br />
and social responsibility – work alongside other<br />
types of businesses who also want a better<br />
world, and will feature <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives UK CEO<br />
Rose Marley in conversation with Camille Dorival<br />
(former editor of Alternatives économiques).<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> <strong>News</strong> international editor Anca Voinea<br />
will facilitate a session on how a co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
response can be integrated in circular economy<br />
strategies on the energy transition, and there<br />
will also be an <strong>op</strong>en and interactive discussion<br />
about the youth perception of the co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
business model and what twist it needs to be<br />
more inclusive, sustainable and grow.<br />
Crédit Agricole, the world’s largest co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
by turnover, is one of the main supporters of the<br />
event and is providing the conference venue,<br />
near the co-<strong>op</strong>’s start-up incubator, Le Village<br />
THE AIM IS TO<br />
REFLECT ON THE<br />
CO-OPERATIVE<br />
WORLD OF<br />
TODAY AND<br />
THAT OF<br />
TOMORROW”<br />
by CA. Le Village, which covers 1,800 m 2 and<br />
houses dozens of start-ups, and will also lead<br />
worksh<strong>op</strong>s for delegates attending in-person.<br />
Since the venue is provided by Crédit Agricole,<br />
the price of the in-person conference tickets<br />
(€490) is similar to that of online tickets (€450).<br />
Those who register before 30 July can also get a<br />
€40 discount.<br />
As to the future, the plan is for the summit<br />
to be held annually in different countries. “ We<br />
want this event to move around the world to<br />
be accessible to pe<strong>op</strong>le,” says Lechasseur. “Not<br />
everyone will be able to come to Paris. The<br />
advantage of having a hybrid event is that pe<strong>op</strong>le<br />
from all over the world will be able to contribute<br />
without having to book a flight to France.<br />
“Likewise, those wishing to attend in person<br />
will be able to talk to other delegates over coffee<br />
breaks and visit Le Village.”<br />
The full programme and list of speakers is<br />
available globalinnovation.co<strong>op</strong><br />
p Joanne Lechasseur<br />
(left) and Jean-Louis<br />
Bancel<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 47
REVIEWS<br />
Worker co-<strong>op</strong>s under the microsc<strong>op</strong>e<br />
– with a message to the world<br />
Working Democracies:<br />
Managing inequality in<br />
worker co<strong>op</strong>eratives,<br />
Joan S. M. Meyers,<br />
<strong>Co</strong>rnell (ILR Press)<br />
After welcoming the millennium with some<br />
over-excited talk of the “end of history”, the<br />
world has been rocked by a string of harrowing<br />
economic, political and environmental crises –<br />
and a publishing industry has grown up around<br />
diagnosing the problem. <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> thinkers have their<br />
own perspective on the global malaise and the<br />
questions it raises around equality, ownership,<br />
power and identities of race, gender and class.<br />
Enter Joan Meyers with a look at worker co-<strong>op</strong>s –<br />
increasingly presented as a democratic grassroots<br />
rival to the prevailing p<strong>op</strong>ulist and corporate forces.<br />
Worker-led models, touted as a counter force to<br />
tech mon<strong>op</strong>olies like Amazon, have been slowly<br />
moving from the pages of publications like <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>News</strong> to the mainstream press, a process which took<br />
another big step this month with the revelations<br />
about the corporate behaviour of Uber, making this<br />
a timely book.<br />
But even worker co-<strong>op</strong>s face questions around<br />
equality, ownership, power and identity, says<br />
Meyers, who built case studies of two Californian<br />
worker co-<strong>op</strong>s – Pe<strong>op</strong>le’s Daily Bread Bakery and<br />
One World Natural Grocery – after members of the<br />
two organisations argued at a conference.<br />
Herbert Gubbins, CEO of the bakery, favoured a<br />
formal business structure over participative selfmanagement<br />
because his team are “working-class<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le who want to come in, do their job, and<br />
get home to their families. They don’t want to sit<br />
through endless meetings”.<br />
But, replied Jan Bridges from the grocery: “All<br />
kinds of working class pe<strong>op</strong>le run their own<br />
businesses every day”.<br />
Meyers, hearing “two strikingly different views<br />
of what workers want”, decided to investigate, and<br />
has compiled a fascinating comparative study, with<br />
frank testimony revealed through interviews and<br />
minutes from meetings.<br />
She discovered that “almost all of the members<br />
of both co-<strong>op</strong>eratives shared similar levels of<br />
personal and family education, family wealth and<br />
occupational prestige, and ‘class culture’”. But<br />
“while the grocery had preserved its gender balance<br />
... bakery women were a small minority, and power<br />
and authority were mapped onto race/ethnicity at<br />
the bakery in a way not found at the grocery”.<br />
A co-<strong>op</strong>’s structure can be influential in this<br />
regard, with both organisations bringing in<br />
consultants to help them weather the financial<br />
crises of the 1980s. They went “in <strong>op</strong>posite<br />
directions from their collectivist origins: the<br />
bakery to permanent and positional management<br />
supervised by a board of directors elected from the<br />
membership, and the grocery to the formalisation<br />
and increased coordination of highly decentralised<br />
work group self-management”.<br />
Worker co-<strong>op</strong>s, adds Meyers, face “inherent<br />
tensions” in a capitalist market – with workerowners<br />
forced to walk a line between protecting<br />
their capital and ensuring that all members are<br />
justly rewarded for their labour. Worker democracy<br />
must be reconciled with “the need for delegation<br />
and coordination of authority in order to compete”,<br />
while “the different market values of members’<br />
skills … conflicts with the equity orientation of the<br />
worker co-<strong>op</strong>erative project”.<br />
Part of the problem lies in the roots of worker<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s, whose “organisational scale and process<br />
limited profitability”, leading to “poverty wages,<br />
effectively excluding pe<strong>op</strong>le who were unable to fall<br />
back on loans or gifts of family wealth”. Another<br />
issue is the greater ease for white pe<strong>op</strong>le in terms of<br />
accessing personal networks or assuming control<br />
of informal structures – which, warns Meyers, can<br />
confer “almost limitless authority”.<br />
For all that, Meyers values the movement. “Labour<br />
is under attack. It needs worker co-<strong>op</strong>eratives,” she<br />
says, valuing them as part of a wider social and<br />
solidarity economy: ‘“diverse organisations and<br />
practices as powerful constituents of an enlivened<br />
non-capitalist politics of place”.<br />
At both co-<strong>op</strong>s, she finds a lack of class inequality<br />
– good wages, with pay equity between gender and<br />
racial groups; working class hirings; and, at the<br />
bakery at least, a ethnic diversity much improved<br />
from the counterculture days.<br />
She still frets that worker co-<strong>op</strong>s might only<br />
offer “temporary shelter” in a world which forces<br />
workers to become “possessive, fiercely guarding<br />
their gates against those perceived as invaders and<br />
outsiders”. But Meyers is no determinist: noting<br />
that “there are conditions under which working<br />
pe<strong>op</strong>le will choose to share rather than hoard, to<br />
recognise rather than pave over differences and<br />
divisions, to address rather than exploit privilege<br />
and disadvantage ... Another world – co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
and egalitarian – is indeed possible.”<br />
48 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
REVIEWS<br />
Housing co-<strong>op</strong>s: How radical union<br />
reformers dreamed big in the Big Apple<br />
Working-Class<br />
Ut<strong>op</strong>ias: A History of<br />
<strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Housing<br />
in New York City,<br />
Robert M. Fogelson,<br />
Princeton University<br />
Press<br />
Urban historian Robert M. Fogelson looks back here<br />
at the story of New York’s co-<strong>op</strong>erative housing,<br />
with a focus on key events and driving forces that<br />
helped and hindered the movement.<br />
One of those pivotal forces is Abraham E. Kazan,<br />
“widely regarded as the father of co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
housing in the United States”. Kazan devel<strong>op</strong>ed<br />
an interest in co-<strong>op</strong>eratives while working at<br />
the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’<br />
Union (ILGWU) before moving to its rival, the<br />
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Kazan<br />
led the devel<strong>op</strong>ment of a number of key co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
housing projects, first using Amalgamated as a<br />
vehicle and then, in 1951, launching the United<br />
Housing Foundation (UHF) to promote co-<strong>op</strong><br />
housing in New York and elsewhere.<br />
He is presented as a tireless ‘doer’, always<br />
looking to press ahead with the next project, “not<br />
only to provide quality housing for working class<br />
New Yorkers but to set an example for wage earners<br />
everywhere”. He believed the spread of housing<br />
co-<strong>op</strong>s would ultimately solve the housing problem<br />
that has long plagued the city.<br />
As well as individual actors, Fogelson draws<br />
on source material to lay out the legislation, the<br />
social, political and economic environments and<br />
the ideological debates taking place at city, state<br />
and federal levels.<br />
All these shaped the co-<strong>op</strong> housing movement<br />
in New York over the nineteenth century – a period<br />
blighted by overcrowding, squalor and a lack<br />
of basic amenities. Things would get worse: an<br />
acute housing shortage following World War I put<br />
pressure on housing regulators to ignore violations.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration was put forward as an alternative to<br />
the public vs private binary.<br />
Kazan and his allies argued that the solution<br />
“was not tenement-house reform. Nor was it<br />
model tenements or public housing. Rather it<br />
was co-<strong>op</strong>erative housing. Spacious and sanitary<br />
apartments could be built for working-class<br />
families, but only by adhering to the principle<br />
of self-help that had been ad<strong>op</strong>ted first at the<br />
Amalgamated Houses and later at <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City and<br />
the UHF’s other housing projects”.<br />
In 1924 Amalgamated voted to build the<br />
Amalgamated Houses, the first of a number of<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ments led by the union. Other unions and<br />
organisations followed suit, and by the 1950s New<br />
York stood as the “unrivalled co-<strong>op</strong> capital” when<br />
it came to housing. Amalgamated’s co-<strong>op</strong>s even<br />
managed to weather the Great Depression, though<br />
most others did not.<br />
Fogelson uses personal accounts from residents<br />
to bring to life the benefits of co-<strong>op</strong>erative living,<br />
such as the garment worker who spoke about living<br />
in the Amalgamated Houses: “Where we used to<br />
live in New York there was never a blade of grass<br />
to be seen and nothing grew but rent … Now the<br />
grass is at my doorway, and when I wake up in the<br />
morning the birds sing for me.”<br />
But Fogelson also finds testimonies to the less<br />
sunny parts of New York’s co-<strong>op</strong> housing story.<br />
Residents of the famous <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City devel<strong>op</strong>ment<br />
lament the piles of rubble and construction work of<br />
the early days of their time there.<br />
The bulk of the book is dedicated to UHF’s<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City, the world’s largest co-<strong>op</strong> housing<br />
devel<strong>op</strong>ment. It took its first residents in 1968<br />
but it wasn’t long before trouble brewed. In the<br />
1970s, as inflation spiralled, the co-<strong>op</strong> hit fiscal<br />
troubles following project delays and soaring<br />
costs, and residents launched a campaign against<br />
management hikes to monthly carry charges. The<br />
economic woes of the time – which feel eerily<br />
similar to those of <strong>2022</strong> – had time driven the cost<br />
of living to “historic heights”, making the increase<br />
in charges even less tolerable for residents.<br />
Fogelson offers a detailed run through of the<br />
legal battle and rent strike carried out by residents<br />
of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City. This points to a key issue regarding<br />
the governance of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City in its early stages,<br />
with the UHF’s leaders described by City <strong>News</strong> as<br />
acting like “benevolent despots”.<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City was UHF’s last devel<strong>op</strong>ment. Fogelson<br />
quotes Peter Eisenstadt who wrote that they were<br />
“profoundly hurt by the fallout from the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City<br />
rent strike” and became “cautious and gun-shy”.<br />
Despite the challenges it faced, <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City<br />
survived and remains the world’s largest<br />
co-<strong>op</strong> housing devel<strong>op</strong>ment, though it ultimately<br />
failed to spur the h<strong>op</strong>ed-for co-<strong>op</strong>erative housing<br />
revolution.<br />
Fogelson quotes Governor Rockefeller describing<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> City as the “crowning achievement” of<br />
the co-<strong>op</strong> housing movement, leaving the reader<br />
wondering if its story is one of h<strong>op</strong>e and inspiration,<br />
or a cautionary tale. Perhaps it can be both.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2022</strong> | 49
DIARY<br />
Do you have a co-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
event – taking place in person,<br />
online, or as a hybrid – to be<br />
featured?<br />
Tell us at: events@thenews.co<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Women’s Voices:<br />
Heather Roberts<br />
24 <strong>August</strong> (10-11am, online)<br />
CWV is a series of monthly interviews<br />
with women from the global co-<strong>op</strong><br />
movement. <strong>August</strong>’s guest is Heather<br />
Roberts, chair of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Heritage Trust.<br />
bit.ly/3RRpLBC<br />
UKSCS Annual <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
26-28 <strong>August</strong> (Lincoln)<br />
The first in-person UK Society for <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Studies conference since 2019<br />
will take place at Lincoln University<br />
and explore the theme: <strong>Co</strong>nsumer co<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
– past, present and future.<br />
bit.ly/3EU3ahM<br />
Values and value chains<br />
7 September (London)<br />
A session to on the values and planning<br />
tools that co-<strong>op</strong>eratives support<br />
(delivered Douglas by Racionzer).<br />
bit.ly/3HPh8TI<br />
Global Innovation <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong> Summit<br />
14-16 September (Paris and online)<br />
Taking the theme New times - New<br />
challenges: the transition areas, with a<br />
specific focus on youth and digital.<br />
globalinnovation.co<strong>op</strong><br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Women’s Voices:<br />
Pauline Green<br />
21 September (12-1.30pm, online)<br />
CWV is a series of monthly interviews<br />
with women from the global co-<strong>op</strong><br />
movement. September’s guest is Dame<br />
Pauline Green, former MEP, former head<br />
of the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Union (now <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives<br />
UK) and former president of the<br />
International <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative Alliance (ICA).<br />
bit.ly/3OoTRJM<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Party <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
8-9 October (Leeds)<br />
From Crisis to <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eration: the <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong><br />
Party’s annual conference will bring<br />
together members and supporters from<br />
across the co-<strong>op</strong>erative and labour<br />
movements to learn more about its work,<br />
help shape Party policy and discuss<br />
priorities and campaigns.<br />
party.co<strong>op</strong>/event/annconf022<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>s and social enterprises<br />
12 October (London)<br />
A session to better understand the terms<br />
<strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>eratives and Social Enterprises<br />
and how to access resources available.<br />
(Hosted by Outlandish and delivered by<br />
Douglas Racionzer).<br />
bit.ly/3tUey9h<br />
CCH Annual <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
14-16 October (Warwick)<br />
The <strong>Co</strong>nfederation of <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong>erative<br />
Housing will bring together the UK’s<br />
housing co-<strong>op</strong> housing sector under the<br />
theme Sustainability – rethink:reset<br />
cch.co<strong>op</strong>/cch-annualconference-<strong>2022</strong><br />
ICMIF Centenary <strong>Co</strong>nference<br />
25-28 October <strong>2022</strong> (Rome)<br />
The ICMIF Centenary <strong>Co</strong>nference will be<br />
hosted by the Unipol Group, an ICMIF<br />
founding member, in Rome, where the<br />
organisation was formed.<br />
icmif.org/icmif-conference<br />
Locality <strong>Co</strong>nvention<br />
8-9 November <strong>2022</strong> (Sheffield)<br />
Locality’s annual convention, at Sheffield<br />
City Hall, brings together pe<strong>op</strong>le who<br />
believe in the power of community.<br />
Organisers plan to explore how best to<br />
build thriving neighbourhoods and how<br />
policymakers can support community<br />
power. Worksh<strong>op</strong>s will be on key issues<br />
such as the future of high streets, the<br />
cost of living crisis, succession planning,<br />
racial justice, the climate crisis and<br />
funding and social investment. There is<br />
an early bird offer of 15% off ticket prices<br />
for bookings made before 11 <strong>August</strong>.<br />
locality.org.uk/events/<br />
convention-21-2<br />
50 | AUGUST <strong>2022</strong>
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<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
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Issue #7334<br />
groups, past, present<br />
and future ... the schools<br />
teaching co-<strong>op</strong>eration by<br />
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Issue #7328<br />
WHAT’S NEXT<br />
FOR THE CO-OP<br />
MOVEMENT?<br />
Plus … How Brexit wi l<br />
affect co-<strong>op</strong> businesses ...<br />
Latest statistics from the<br />
World <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Monitor... The<br />
Hive begins anothe round of<br />
funding and support<br />
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LISTENING<br />
TO A NEW<br />
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LISTENING<br />
TO A NEW<br />
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news news Issue #7330 APRIL 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, cha chalenging<br />
lenging<br />
World <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative Monitor …<br />
Interview with Rob Harrison,<br />
author of The Handbook<br />
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MPs debate debate the<br />
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mutuals to the UK<br />
news news Issue #7333 JULY 2021<br />
<strong>Co</strong>nnecting, <strong>Co</strong>nnecting, championing, championing, cha cha lenging lenging<br />
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PEER LEARNING<br />
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A co-<strong>op</strong>erative future DECEMBER for the 2021<br />
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Part 2 of our <strong>Co</strong>-<strong>op</strong> Christmas<br />
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news news Issue #7332 JUNE 2021<br />
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news news Issue #7332 JUNE 2021<br />
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co-<strong>op</strong>s hold their annual<br />
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news news Issue #7327 JANUARY 2021<br />
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JUNE 2021<br />
THE FUTURE OF<br />
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results round-up<br />
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news news Issue #7327 JANUARY 2021<br />
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CONGRESS 2021:<br />
CO-OPS ARE THE<br />
REBUILDERS<br />
Plus … The ethics of<br />
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