Solidarity Economy and Worker Co-op Campaign

Solidarity Economy Movement (SEM)

The SEM has been supporting the advancement of food sovereignty over the past 5 years. The SEM has created a website directory portal for cooperatives, local producers and markets to network and supply food to each other through solidarity and trade. Visit the website to find out more on how to register your organisational profile and products and start networking with other cooperatives and local markets.

Click to Visit www.sem.org.za

Worker Cooperative Campaign Concept Note SEM Assembly, 4-5 December 2014

The key proposal of the Worker Cooperative Alternative Campaign is to focus on public policy demands for a national Worker Cooperative Act, build the campaign from below, link the worker cooperative campaign and food sovereignty campaign and mobilise resources to support solidarity economy cooperative fund mechanisms. COPAC has developed a host of materials to support such demands and can be used to build activist capacity around such demands. Such demands can be targeted at national, provincial and local government.

Worker Cooperative Alternative Campaign – Create Work Through Worker Cooperatives!

1. National Worker Cooperative Committee for Public Policy Submission for a Worker Cooperative Act
   1. Formulation of demands and law supporting worker cooperatives
   2. Organisations to make submissions to committee
   3. Case studies and research

2. Movements and Solidarity Economy Communities to Take Forward the Campaign

All movements, community organisations and support organisations to take forward the various support tools developed in the SE schools to build local worker cooperatives and advance the campaign locally. In particular the worker cooperative activist guide has to used extensively on the ground. In addition, other tools can also be pulled of the COPAC webpage:

1. Ground work training tools
2. Aftercare training tools
3. Self management and governance tools
4. Movement networking and building tools

3. Link the Worker Cooperative Campaign with Food Sovereignty Campaign

At all times SEM activists and forces need to link these two campaigns on the ground.

4. Resourcing and Fund Raising
   1. Develop methodology for Solidarity Economy Fund.
   2. Submission of proposals to various state grant funding agencies to support and stream funding to the national solidarity economy movement fund
   3. Issue a call to unions and other progressive organisations to support the campaign and provide funds to the national solidarity economy fund
   4. Worker cooperatives need to contribute to the national fund in how they use loan finance from the fund National fund budget and finance mechanism be developed.
   5. Implementation strategy for financing pilot worker cooperatives nationally

• The Worker Cooperative Activist Guide explores the worker cooperative model more in depth and can help in guiding and training your members setting up your very own movement of worker cooperatives in your community.