Spain:Cooperatives have created 22,000 jobs between 2015 and 2016
According to the latest CICOPA report in the world, there are 250 million cooperative jobs. If we limit it to the G20, there are 234 million, approximately 12% of the employed population. In Spain, data from the Ministry of Employment for 2015 and 2016 give an increase of 22,800 jobs in cooperatives, of which almost 80% are In cooperatives of associated work.
These figures were presented this morning by the Spanish Confederation of Associated Labor Cooperatives (COCETA) during its General Assembly. As of December 31, 2016, there were 20,792 cooperatives in Spain, of which 17,115 were associated work. 315 thousand people were members of high in the Social Security; And more than 250,000 working people, direct jobs of labor cooperatives.
New creation in 2016
At the evolutionary level, the figures are again positive, as the line of growth of creation of cooperatives year after year has gone from 711 new cooperatives in 2007 to 1,058 in 2016. By Autonomous Communities, Andalusia (186), Murcia (110), Comunidad Valenciana (144), Catalunya (155) and Euskadi (159) have created the most cooperative work in 2016.
By sector of activity stands out the services, with 794 new cooperatives in 2016 and 2,409 new jobs. Construction is the second of the sectors in order of importance, followed by the agricultural sector and industry.
Challenges
During the General Assembly, Juan Antonio Pedreño, reelected president of COCETA, wanted to highlight some of the challenges faced by labor cooperatives. The first of them is the economic model: "Society no longer bets on a capitalist bet on the use," explained Pedreño, "but by more transparent, more participatory companies with social benefits. In addition, we are facing demographic changes such as greater aging and more numbers of young people entering the labor market, and therefore need jobs. "
Other of the great challenges of cooperatives of work are the rapid technological changes; The rediscovery of cooperatives by workers, who are beginning to realize that there is another model and that can, for example, recover companies in crisis; And the general lack of information on the cooperative model by society.
"Faced with this, the cooperative movement must act," continued Pedreño. "We need to improve the regulatory environment that affects labor co-operatives; Increase society’s knowledge of education and training in cooperatives; And include curricula in educational programs. We also have to overcome the local character of cooperatives, and rely on structures such as COCETA, and even as the Spanish Business Confederation of Social Economy (CEPES), which allow us to be in the discussion forums on public policies.
A picture of cooperatives of work
Working cooperatives are characterized by stable and quality employment. 81.9% of the members of the cooperatives have a full-time working day, a characteristic that runs counter to the new jobs created during the crisis, which is usually part-time. In addition, working cooperatives are characterized by being much better positioned in terms of gender equality. And 49% of the members of the labor cooperatives are women, and more than 30% occupy positions of responsibility, a figure much higher than in capital companies.
The age group of cooperatives begins with young people and consolidates at a middle age when they have already gone through a career. 37.1% of the people who form labor cooperatives are between 25 and 39 years old. And 43.5% are between 40 and 54 years old.
The group of member entities of COCETA represents a total of 22,100 million of turnover. The average turnover can be estimated at 1.3 million per year per cooperative.
For more info: prensa@coceta.coop | www.coceta.coop