Cooperativism at Work: Worker-Owned Cooperatives Across the World

The first of its kind, this book shows that enterprises owned and managed by their own staff as cooperatives, estimated to be over 300,000 in the world and to employ over 15 million people, can be economically sustainable in the long term and substantially contribute to community development.

Comprising 26 case studies, the book showcases how by providing membership and control to worker-member-owners and promoting community empowerment, worker-owned cooperatives have built sustainable businesses and fostered democratic decision-making across various sectors and geographies. The analysis emphasises the importance of education and training, capital accumulation facilitated by supportive regulatory frameworks and inter-cooperative systems (networks, agencies, federations, and peer groups), and the role of worker cooperativism in promoting equality, community development, and environmental sustainability. Worker and social cooperatives are well-positioned to address global challenges by promoting sustainable development, equality, and community-centric solutions. Worker cooperativism has shown a strong capacity to innovate socially, but also technologically, including over the past few years, while providing high levels of employment security and welfare.

The book is of great use to practitioners within the cooperative movement, in particular the worker-members of worker and social cooperatives themselves, as well as developers of such cooperatives within the cooperative movement, but also among development NGOs and social movements.

Bruno Roelants is a consultant on cooperatives and international development. He is the former Director General of the International Cooperative Alliance (April 2018–February 2023). Previously, he was Secretary General of CICOPA as of 2002 and of its regional organisation CECOP CICOPA-Europe as of 2006.