Co-op News March 2023

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CHILE Electric co-ops work to keep power on as wildfi es break out An outbreak of wildfires has caused havoc in Chile, with electric co-ops among organisations working to stay operational through the disaster. The forest fires, which have been burning across the south-central region of the country, spread into new areas last month, prompting president Gabriel Boric to declare a state of emergency in the states of Biobio, Nuble and Araucania. So far the disaster has cost 24 lives, destroyed over 1,000 houses and affected 300,000 hectares of land. Power supplies were threatened as electric co-op infrastructure was caught up in the fires and steps have been taken to restore service. Two fires, one of which affected the distribution network at a river crossing, affected the Cooperativa Eléctrica Curicó. “Fortunately, thanks to the good construction quality and use of conductor of good quality, the network withstood the ravages of the fire,” general manager Alejandro Toledo told Co-op News. The co-op is carrying out preventive maintenance tasks, he added, including thermography, inspections and the felling of trees that could fall on the network in the event of a fire. “We have had to set up a stock of equipment and materials to be able to replace quickly in the event of a contingency that damages the network,” said Toledo.“Our brigades remain alert and our operations centre coordinates with the fire stations to be able to react quickly both to cut off the supply when fire-fighters require it for safety, and to replace it as soon as possible so that customers are not affected by a loss of power supply.” Also affected was Copelec, an electric co-op based in Chillán, central Chile, south of the River Ñuble. “Despite the difficult conditions, Copelec is deployed p Staff from Cooperativa Eléctrica Curicó assessing damages (image: Cooperativa Eléctrica Curicó) with all of its emergency crews to restore service as soon as possible to our cooperatives and affected customers,” it told members in a statement. “We thank you very much for your understanding in these hard times that our region and the south of Chile are going through.” USA Federation of Southern Co-ops offers disaster relief after tornado hits Alabama Co-operators in the USA have mobilised relief efforts after severe weather raged through Alabama last month, with the cities of Selma and Eutaw hit by a tornado. The Federation of Southern Cooperatives (FSC) sent an emergency team to the area to help the community cover roofs with blue tarps, with many residents sheltering in their damaged homes to save their belongings. Made up of Alabama-based staff, the FSC team was led by Freddie Davis, director of its Rural Training & Research Center (RTRC) in Epes. While in Selma, the relief team helped with the clean-up operation, cutting and clearing trees and brush. They also answered phone calls, prepared lunches, mended fences, served dinners, and guided residents to resource locations. While recovery work continues, the Federation is offering temporary housing p A team from the Federation helps with the post-disaster recovery work (image: FSC) at the RTRC to families impacted by the tornado. “The Federation is committed to providing co-operative development and land retention support and other resources for family farmers to aid in the recovery and rebuilding process,” said Davis. Historically, rural communities have less developed infrastructure, greater distances between people and services, and fewer resources. The Federation says these communities suffer more from disaster, as limited resources can’t support the assistance needed, and what help there is takes twice as long to arrive. The greatest needs during times of disaster are food, water, and shelter. “Family farmers, co-operatives and community-based organisations, like the Federation, are usually positioned to assist communities and populations severely affected by disasters, and other economic hardships,” added the Federation, a 56-year-old co-operative association of black farmers, landowners, and co-operatives. “Disaster relief and recovery is a major part of our overall co-operative economic development, land retention, and advocacy efforts,” said the Federation’s executive director Cornelius Blanding. “We understand there are various challenges of rebuilding rural communities after a major disaster; the community itself – including farmers, landowners, and co-operatively owned businesses – must be part of the relief and recovery efforts in order to create resilient communities. “Farmers are first responders and have always been.” 14 | MARCH 2023
EUROPE Worker co-ops welcome progress toward new EU rules for digital economy The European Parliament has adopted a negotiating mandate for talks on measures to improve conditions for workers on digital labour platforms. At a plenary session on 2 February, MEPs approved a report from its Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), which sets its negotiating position, with measures to combat false self-employment in platform work, human oversight on all decisions affecting working conditions, and a requirement for platforms to share more information with national authorities. The vote, passed with 376 in favour, 212 against and 15 abstentions, gives EMPL a mandate to negotiate with the European Council, as part of the next steps towards the adoption of the directive. The European confederation of industrial and service co-operatives (Cecop) welcomed the vote as “a strong step forward towards a more level playing field for businesses and better working conditions for workers”. The text recognises co-ops and calls on the EU member states to “protect and promote co-operative undertakings”, Cecop noted, and includes an inclusive definition of workers’ representatives, which may also cover worker-owned cooperatives. Cecop also welcomed a provision to ensure a fair classification of platform workers, adding that “if all platforms correctly define the status of their workers, this will ensure level playing field and fair competition for co-operative platforms”. “We defend the workers, we defend the good employers and fair competition,” report author MEP Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D, Italy), told MEPs. The growth of the gig economy has prompted fierce debate over working conditions around the world. The European Commission estimates that 28 million people across the EU work through digital labour platforms, and this number will reach 43 million by 2025. DENNMARK Co-op owned meat processor Danish Crown to cut 150 jobs Co-operatively owned meat processor Danish Crown has announced 150 job cuts at its business unit as part of a ‘new roadmap’. Danish Crown, which is owned by 9,000 Danish cattle farmers via the coop Leverandørselskabet Danish Crown Amba, released a statement last month with details of the restructuring. It cites Covid-19, war in Ukraine and growth in China’s domestic pig production as factors that have led to lower exports and “reluctant customers”. Danish Crown now aims to cut DKK 400m (GBP 47.8m) per year through a process of restructuring that is expected to take around six months. “These are drastic changes which have happened in a very short space of time,’ said says Jais Valeur, group CEO at Danish Crown. “We can’t influence market trends, but we can do something about our own business. We based our strategy on a stable and strong market and a positive outlook. Now, everything has been turned upside down, and we’ve had to rethink the way in which we can achieve our goals.” The cost-cutting plans include merging or shutting down sales companies outside Denmark and reducing the capacity of its factories and slaughterhouses around Europe. Up to 40% less cattle will be slaughtered by Danish Crown between now and May, with future capacity beyond that date yet to be determined. The news comes after the recent announcement that Danish Crown is closing its deboning site in Boizenburg, east of Hamburg, Germany. Production director Per Laursen said that the site’s 200 employees would be offered jobs at one of their other facilities “to the extent that it is possible”. Danish Crown also plans to cut 150 jobs, 100 of which are expected to be in Denmark – primarily in the business unit Danish Crown, which was created through the merger of Danish Crown Pork and Danish Crown Foods. “It’s very sad having to say goodbye to so many skilled employees,” said Valeur, “but we really have no other choice in the current situation. Costs, efficiency and a tight supply chain all the way from the farmer to the consumer are central to the current market situation. “This is why I would also like to stress that it is not because individual employees have not lived up to their responsibilities, but because of the extraordinary situation that we’re faced with and which, unfortunately, requires a rightsizing of the organisation.” Danish Crown says it has informed employees of the anticipated redundancies and is establishing a negotiating committee comprising management and employee representatives to discuss terms for those concerned. MARCH 2023 | 15
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Page 6 and 7: EQUALITY Bright Future Co-op reappo
Page 8 and 9: CREDIT UNIONS Credit union lending
Page 10 and 11: ENERGY OVO pledges support for comm
Page 12 and 13: GLOBAL UPDATES TURKEY AND SYRIA Co-
Page 16 and 17: UKRAINE War-torn credit unions give
Page 18 and 19: USA Hawaiian electric co-op draws u
Page 20 and 21: JAPAN Sustainable housing co-op bui
Page 22 and 23: MEET John Brodie CEO of Scotmid Co-
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Page 26 and 27: From Crisis to Co-op: Future Co-ops
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Page 30 and 31: q Francesca Gagliardi; facing page,
Page 32 and 33: Fairtrade Fortnight 2023 highlights
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Page 48 and 49: INTERVIEW Learning from the legacy
Page 50 and 51: DIARY Do you have a co-operative ev
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