CEPES

Centros esp. de Empleo

18.635

CO-OPERATIVES

314.119

EMPLOYMENTS

Fuente: 4º trimestre de 2019. Datos del Ministerio Empleo y Economía Social

DEFINITION

The co-operative is a form of business organisation based on a democratic structure and functioning.

The activity of co-operatives follows cooperative principles which have been accepted and regulated at the regional, national and international level. These principles are:

1. Open and voluntary membership, which guarantees the freedom of its members to enter and leave the co-operative:

Principle: “The door is always open”

2. Democratic management, which ensures the direct participation of its members in setting the objectives of the cooperative in equal conditions, regardless of the capital provided:

Principle: “One person, one vote”

3. Economic participation of its members, establishing that all profits are distributed based on the activity carried out by each co-operative member, instead of on the capital provided. This avoids the personal prosperity of some and not others.

Principle: “Profit participation based on the members’ work, not their capital”

4. Education, training and information, as obligations that the co-operative has with its members and waged workers, as well as fostering the co-operative movement:

Principle of: “Economic democracy school”

5. Taking an interest in the community, which entails a commitment to sustainable development and social and territorial cohesion in the local sphere, conveying democratic culture and behaviour.

Principle: “Sustainable development and a democratic commitment to the local sphere”

Co-operatives follow these principles regardless of the varied legal statuses and types of organisations that exist within the co-operative movement. Different criteria can be used for their classification.

First-degree co-operatives: they bring together at least three members with common interests or similar socio-economic commitments.
Second-degree co-operatives: they bring together at least two co-operatives, aiming to strengthen their economic activity, “a co-operatives’ co-operative”.

Based on the activity they carry out, we can find co-operatives that focus on: