FEBRUARY 2018

CONNECTING, CHAMPIONING AND
CHALLENGING THE GLOBAL CO-OP
MOVEMENT SINCE 1871
Holyoake House, Hanover Street,
Manchester M60 0AS
(00) 44 161 214 0870
www.thenews.coop
editorial@thenews.coop
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Anthony Murray
anthony@thenews.coop
DEPUTY EDITOR
Rebecca Harvey
rebecca@thenews.coop
EDITORIAL
Anca Voinea | anca@thenews.coop
Miles Hadfield | miles@thenews.coop
DESIGN: Keir Mucklestone-Barnett
DIRECTORS
Elaine Dean (chair), David Paterson
(vice-chair), Richard Bickle, Sofygil
Crew, Gavin Ewing, Tim Hartley,
Erskine Holmes, Beverley Perkins and
Barbara Rainford.
Secretary: Ray Henderson
Established in 1871, Co-operative News
is published by Co-operative Press Ltd,
a registered society under the Cooperative
and Community Benefit Society
Act 2014. It is printed every month by
Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton,
Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Membership of
Co-operative Press is open to individual
readers as well as to other co-operatives,
corporate bodies and unincorporated
organisations.
The Co-operative News mission statement
is to connect, champion and challenge
the global co-operative movement,
through fair and objective journalism and
open and honest comment and debate.
Co-op News is, on occasion, supported by
co-operatives, but final editorial control
remains with Co-operative News unless
specifically labelled ‘advertorial’. The
information and views set out in opinion
articles and letters do not necessarily
reflect the opinion of Co-operative News.
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Our view: Co-ops must play their
part in building a future for work
The modern co-op movement – created to meet challenges facing workers in the
wake of the Industrial Revolution – faces a new test as the world undergoes another
technological upheaval.
There is growing concern over the threat to jobs from automation and the constant
need to update skills. Add the pressures of globalisation, climate change and an
ageing population into the mix, and it’s clear we face uncertain times.
How should the movement respond? Leading figures at the Global Conference in
Kuala Lumpur stressed the trust people place in co-ops, which gives the movement
a selling point as the world economy reshapes itself. Others discussed the wealth of
data co-ops have access to, and the fact that they are well-placed to take advantage
of a shift in the job market towards areas such as the care sector.
But how will this new world of co-operative work be financed? Some suggest an
automation tax on robots to fund health and care. Others are looking into setting up
state investment banks.
And there are those who say that co-operatives are not strong enough to face
these challenges alone, and urge them to work with other movements – as is
already happening, for instance with the co-op-union hybrids being developed in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ultimately, the solutions may come from the very developments that have disrupted
the economy. One of our case studies, Moeda in Brazil, is a co-op crypto bank which
lends to sustainable businesses which might not otherwise have accessed finance.
It’s creative thinking like this which is needed to steer the co-op movement through
these changing times.
MILES HADFIELD - EDITORIAL TEAM
Co-operative News is printed using vegetable oil-based
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waste) with the remaining 20% produced from FSC or PEFC
certified sources. It is made in a totally chlorine free process.
FEBRUARY 2018 | 3