Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

End of year Q&A: John Atherton, Workers.coop

A look back on the first year of the UK’s new federation for the worker co-op sector

How was 2023 for workers.coop?

After a difficult 2022, 2023 was a great year for me personally and for workers.coop. Having registered at the end of 2022, we only properly started taking on members in Jan 2023. We’ve had a great first year:

  • We’ve raised over £150,000 to support worker co-op development
  • Launched a number of local member meet-ups and online peer networks
  • We ran our first conference, the Autumn Assembly in October, with plans already under way for our second Worker Coop Weekend 17th-19th May
  • We’ve published a new edition of the Worker Code, a guide to starting a worker co-op and a growing number of case-studies on worker coops
  • We launched our Co-op Conversations service to support new worker co-ops and range learning programmes for our membership
  • Most importantly, we have done a hell of a lot of learning, as we are trying new things.

What are your hopes for 2024?

Traditional business associations serve their members by employing a professional team, answerable to a board. As well as not having the funds for that sort of structure, it’s not really our thing. Traditional grassroots campaigning organisations rely almost entirely on contributions of money and effort from a looser network of volunteers, but they can lack direction and burn out individuals involved. 

My hope for workers.coop is we continue to learn how to effectively combine these organising models, of a federation and a movement. That we can develop the centralised infrastructure to support a large and energetic network of supporters to act. That we can help create a world where everyone has access to rewarding, meaningful and sustainable work. Where workers aren’t exploited, wealth is spread fairly, capital serves workers, not the other way round.

Click here for more Q&As from our annual review