bridge too far Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/30/basque-country-big-society-spain?CMP=twt_gu Very interesting article about co-operatives in the Basque region of Spain. Shall we have a discussion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 A men only club in Britain? No, it wouldn't work. Not because the idea isn't sound, because quite frankly it is, but because the PC brigade would scream and shout about how unfair it is that women, gays, bisexual, lesbian, black, yellow, Asian or whatever race creed, colour or sexual persuasion are not allowed to join. Even if we had one club for each and every demographic it still wouldn't work because our country would never allow the laws of the land to end at the front door! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 IMO football stadiums should be men only clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 30 March, 2011 Author Share Posted 30 March, 2011 Oh I didn't mean just the clubs! Although I think I'm right in saying, for example, that some Round Table Clubs and Masons are men only? No, I meant the main part of the article, about co-operatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingbattigger Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 That's a very interesting read btf but I think in this country there's too much 'me me me'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dune Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 We've got a Co-Op in my town, but Tescos are cheaper so everyone shops there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMikey Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 Imagine the field day the Mail would have with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deppo Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 We've got a Co-Op in my town, but Tescos are cheaper so everyone shops there. Shut up Deppo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericb Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/30/basque-country-big-society-spain?CMP=twt_gu Very interesting article about co-operatives in the Basque region of Spain. Shall we have a discussion? Mondragon (the largest of the basque co-ops) has a proud heritage in the basque country, and spain's networks of co-ops are well founded and deep rooted. The difference there is that they have their roots in the Anarchist (very unpopular right now i know but actually a serious political movement in spain) syndicalist movement best typified by the CNT. One of the things i love about them is that they play a huge role in society itself, putting money back in to schools etc. It's not just in the basque country/cataluna/spain that co-ops thrive though, there's a proud tradition in Southern Italy too. It's worth noting too that there's a vast array of co-op structures, from workers co-ops owned and run by the staff that work in them; to community co-ops, where the staff own the co-op but higher level decisions are made with full community involvement; to partnerships (like John Lewis) and customer co-ops, where the people using the service have an investment in the co-op itself (this is actually how the co-op store started, with profits being returned as dividends to the people using them at the end of the financial year). It's also important to understand that whilst most co-ops tend to be non profit making, with the profit going back into the wages of the people working there, not all are. Also not all are non hierarchical, which the basque one's tend to be, and can infact have a defacto management structure. Oh and it shouldn't be overlooked that there's a great network of co-op's in britain too, at one point they were even the biggest growth area during the recession (not sure if that still rings true though). In Southampton itself there are still a number of co-op's running too, from housing to non-profit shops & companies, and the head quarters of the Southern Area Co-operative Development Agency was housed in St Mary's for decades (not sure if it's still there now though as i don't live in the city anymore). Oh and for those wanting to do more reading i'd suggest looking into what happened in Argentina after the collapse of their economy in the early part of the 00's, with many of the workers re-claiming the places they worked in. Oh and sadly dune i won't be able to respond to your comments because this is my last post of today, no doubt they'll be balanced and sensible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 Bloody hell, talk about plagiarism.... Or aha - wonder what marekting luvvie decided to come up with the idea of flying some Journos to Spain for a Junket Similar article in the Telegraph Dated 16th FEB lol http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8329355/Spains-astonishing-co-op-takes-on-the-world.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 30 March, 2011 Author Share Posted 30 March, 2011 Bloody hell, talk about plagiarism.... Or aha - wonder what marekting luvvie decided to come up with the idea of flying some Journos to Spain for a Junket Similar article in the Telegraph Dated 16th FEB lol http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8329355/Spains-astonishing-co-op-takes-on-the-world.html I'm not quite sure what point you are making? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 http://www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/people-power-food-cooperative-challenges-big-supermarkets-2120.aspx Peoples Supermarket, same sort of principle. They did a programme on TV about it. It nearly went bust, but when they pulled together it really started to work and was financially sustainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 30 March, 2011 Author Share Posted 30 March, 2011 I'm a member of the Co-op. It still does the 'divi'. I get loyalty points by using a loyalty card but also I get a further dividend because I bank with the Co-op. Every 6 months I, along with every other member, gets a share of the profits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Posted 30 March, 2011 Share Posted 30 March, 2011 I'm a member of the Co-op. It still does the 'divi'. I get loyalty points by using a loyalty card but also I get a further dividend because I bank with the Co-op. Every 6 months I, along with every other member, gets a share of the profits. and roughly how much do you get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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