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Co‑operatives UK - the campaign for co‑operation

 

Image of Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co‑operatives UK

Move, move, move your money
Hurrah! The UK campaign to call for us all to ‘move your money’ to co‑op and mutual banks launches today. This is a campaign kick started by hope and passion and it will succeed if we can get the public … Continue reading

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Co‑operatives 2010

Co‑operatives 2010 is the UK's biggest and most influential gathering of co‑operatives and the event will be held in Plymouth, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Co‑operation in the city!

To find out more, please visit www.congress.uk.coop.

Image of a man reading a newspaper

We’ll cost you some friends, Mummy
The Times picks up on the results of Co‑operatives UK's neighbourliness survey, done as part of Co‑operatives Fortnight.

read more . . .

University's co‑op school
Sheffield Hallam University is running courses in June and July to develop knowledge about the rationale, purposes and practices of cooperatives.

read more . . .

 

Image of Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co‑operatives UK

Move, move, move your money
Hurrah! The UK campaign to call for us all to ‘move your money’ to co‑op and mutual banks launches today. This is a campaign kick started by hope and passion and it will succeed if we can get the public … Continue reading

read more . . .

Co‑operatives 2010

Co‑operatives 2010 is the UK's biggest and most influential gathering of co‑operatives and the event will be held in Plymouth, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Co‑operation in the city!

To find out more, please visit www.congress.uk.coop.

Making Local Food Work

MLFW logo

Top names unite to debate future of community food at landmark event
Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University has added his name to a roll call of top names...

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For more information about the project, visit the Making Local Food Work mini-web.

Legal ImageOur Legal Services team are here to give advice on issues such as legal structures for co‑operative, examples of model rules for different types of co‑operatives, and also help in registering your co‑operative.

For more information, visit the Legal Services miniweb.

 

Image of John Atherton, Worker Co‑operative Member Development Officer

MyCSP style over substance?
I have just read an article in the Financial Times about the new "employee owned" privatisation of the civil servants pension fund. As an exponent of worker co‑ops and employee ownership should I be happy?

I can't speak on behalf of the movement, but my own personal feeling is best described as 'uneasy'. I have no personal problem moving the means of production from the state direct to the workers (this may well get a lot of bad comments from trade unions, but so be it).  I'm also in favour of experimenting with new models, innovation and the like.

So I'm interested, but also uneasy; there are elements of employee ownership, enough so that if the experiment fails employee ownership will get stained with that failure, Like the Tony Benn's worker co‑ops of the 70's, and privatisation of bus companies in the 80's.

But are there enough elements of employee ownership or "John Lewis-style mutual" in place so that this new entity Ministers are poised to launch is a success? Will the employees get a real stake in ownership and control, driving up productivity and customer service? Will it create good jobs, motivated staff and probably most importantly for the Govt. Will it get public acceptance as a more palatable form privatisation, giving workers a more equitable share of the wealth? Lets have a read.

500 staff in the Department for Work and Pensions will leave the public sector in March and become stakeholders in MyCSP, a privately held company that will handle the retirement funds of 1.5m civil servants, disbursing £4bn ($6.3bn) in pension payments each year.
 
Is it employee owned? 
The MyCSP model, profits will be shared between a private sector provider, which will hold a 42 per cent stake; the government, with 33 per cent; and employees, who will own 25 per cent of the shares. A shortlist of 16 private sector providers has been narrowed to four – Xafinity, Capita, JLT and Wipro.

With a 25% stake I would say no, also its not clear if employees get 25% of the profits (and how this is distributed between employees).

Is it employee controlled?

Clive Bryant, PCS branch secretary in Worthing, said staff would have no real say in the running of the company as they were represented on a shareholder trust by a professional, experienced director, whose position would be advertised, rather than a staff member. The director, advised by employees, would influence decisions over bonuses and charities but would have no control over company strategy. “In reality staff will have an arms-length relationship,” he said. “It’s not as if this is a workers co‑op.”

There is an employee partnership council, but information is sketchy, information from PCS the Trade Union is of course bias. If anyone has details of governance and management information I'll be happy to post.

On the face of it I'd say no again.

Will this motivate & empower staff driving up performance?
The Government view taken from Francis Maudes response to a question about consultation with employees is below. Full details here.

Mr Maude: MyCSP is keen to transform its business into an innovative mutual joint venture that offers extensive benefits to employees, customers and the Government.

The Government support this endeavour. Extensive consultation with the employees of MyCSP has been carried out, led by the CEO, including face to face, written and telephone communications. Trade Unions have been consulted and I have met with them personally.

Elections are already under way for employees to sit on the Employee Partnership Council. This body will strengthen the voice of employees and involve them directly in the running of the company.


The view from the Trade Union: "The vast majority of MyCSP members are opposed to leaving the civil service and becoming part of a ‘mutual joint venture’. Ian Pope, PCS DWP group negotiator, told PCS Voice: “MyCSP management has consistently refused to canvass staff views on the decision to move them out of the civil service and into a mutual joint venture. PCS balloted its members in MyCSP and received overwhelming support for action.

Added to that 94% of members in an independent survey conducted by PCS – from a high 55% response rate – said they did not agree with Francis Maude that turning MyCSP would ‘empower staff and drive up performance’.” Full Details here. Their specific response to Employee Partnership Council here.

Conclusion
I'm still interested, but still uneasy.
What do you think?

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Image of a windfarm

Trading for Mutual Benefit: Networking Event
Trading for Mutual Benefit: Networking Event - Tuesday 20 October, 12.30 - 4pm, Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester M60 0ASCo-operatives North West is holding an inter-trading and networking event for any individual or organisation with an interest in co‑operative and mutual enterprise. Key note speakers Gareth Nash and Petra Morris, will address three co‑operative growth areas - renewable

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The logo for Greener TogetherIt's not too late to do something great this year.......

Join 'Greener Together - the co‑operative way - and let's demonstrate how together we can make a significant impact on climate change.

We are looking for 50 committed co‑operatives and community owned enterprises across England - a total of 3,600 people - who will be supported to take action to become greener and reduce their carbon footprint.

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Image of a man reading a newspaper

We’ll cost you some friends, Mummy
The Times picks up on the results of Co‑operatives UK's neighbourliness survey, done as part of Co‑operatives Fortnight.

read more . . .

University's co‑op school
Sheffield Hallam University is running courses in June and July to develop knowledge about the rationale, purposes and practices of cooperatives.

read more . . .