25 Jun 2013
In
a special series of articles, eDigest is examining the Blueprint for a
Co-operative Decade to see how each theme is currently being supported
by co-operatives . . .
One of the strongest
arguments put forward to support the growth and development of
co-operatives is that the business model should be on a level playing
field compared with other types of business.
At the
launch of the International Year of Co-operatives at the United Nations,
New York, in October 2011, Dame Pauline Green, ICA President, told representatives from around the world:
“Member-owned co-operatives are a serious business model – with scale.
And so, co-operatives are asking that the specific and unique legal and
financial framework of a co-operative is fully acknowledged and
recognised in public policy and regulation.”
She added:
“Co-operatives are asking that there should be a greater
diversification of the global economy, to ensure a level playing field
for the member-owned model of business.”
The Blueprint
argues that to enable co-operatives to grow then certain barriers,
generally contained within national laws, need to be removed. It added
that financial, legal and regulatory infrastructures are designed for
the greater majority of businesses which are profit-oriented, which are
inappropriate for co-operatives.
Guidelines already
exist for governments in the form of the International Labour
Organization’s Promotion of Co-operatives Recommendation (193), which
says nations should provide a supportive policy and legal framework
guided by co-operative principles. It adds that governments should
promote co-operatives for a range of purposes including the creation of
employment and income generating activities.
In 2009,
the Indian government amended its constitution through its Constitution
(111th) Bill, which made the right to form co-operative societies a
fundamental right. Last year, the United Kingdom government said it
would consolidate co-operative legislation, while new legislation has been set up in Brazil, Cuba and Peru.
In
order to forward the goal for supportive legal frameworks, the
Blueprint outlines a number of actions including providing assistance
for regulators through a support network; and by providing a study of
how other countries adopt co-operative laws for policy-makers.
Recent initiatives by the ICA
in this area include the ability for government agencies and regulators
to become associate members of the ICA, which will eventually form part
of a forum for the input and exchange of ideas. Also a network of
Global Co-operative Parliamentarians, based on an existing Latin America
Parliamentarian Association, is being built to identify legislators
sympathetic to co-operative principles.
• To find out more about this chapter, download the Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade: http://ica.coop/en/blueprint
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