The European Confederation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives (Cecop) has released a snapshot report on employment practices and economic situations at worker-owned and social co-ops across Europe for 2022-2023.
Cecop represents around 43,000 cooperatives, employing over 1.3 million workers across Europe; of these 72% are worker co-ops, 27% are social co-ops, and the rest are co-ops of self-employed producers.
The 2022-2023 snapshot is based on data from 17 members, as well as secondary data, including information from members’ websites, reports on activities and national statistics.
The majority of co-ops in Cecop’s network operate in services (73%), while 14% are in industry and 12% are in construction.
Looking at employment practices, Cecop found that within its network, an average of 85% of work contracts are long-term, and 72% of employees are co-owners of their enterprises.
The report highlights some notable examples of inclusion in the workplace, such as Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, where 33% of co-op workers are people with disabilities.
In terms off gender, women make up 72% of Italian co-ops’ workforce, 66% of whom are also co-op members. In Czech co-ops, women make up 55% of the workforce, with 55% of these being co-op members.
The report also collected data on the overall economic and employment situation of Cecop co-ops. Asked to evaluate their affiliated co-ops’ economic situations, in relation to production and sales, 64.5% of members reported that their co-ops are doing better or the same than the previous financial year.
When it came to employment, 57% of Cecop members reported there being either the same amount or more jobs among their co-ops.
Cecop members expect their situation to remain stable, with 71.4% expecting the economic position of their co-ops to stay about the same, and 21.4% expecting it to improve.
“Despite the negative socio-economic features of 2022-2023 (war in Ukraine, disruption of international value chains, increase in energy prices, inflation, etc.), members report stability for that period and even towards the future,” says the report. “Co-operative resilience in the event of a crisis seems to apply here, although caution and a more in-depth analysis of the effects of the crisis are necessary, especially concerning late effects.”
