Page 19 - link magazine

19
NEWS &VIEWS

-OPS WORK
WORKER CO
by King sley Matthews, Development Worker, Swindon Co-Operative Development Agency
The past eight years will go down Co-operative Society which has in forming Swindon Co-operative please get in touch
in history as the worst period in stores in most parts of Swindon. Development Agency which Better stilt, come to a seminar on
British National history. I don't This is a consumer co-operative exists to promote and develop community business on 5th
March at Link Centre
need to describe here the devas- where the members are the cus- Co-operative enterprises in 10.00 a.m. —4.00 p.m.
tation that has been happening tomers. In a workers co-operative Swindon and the surrounding More details from me on 511802.
in manufacturing and heavy the members are the workers district.
industry. The unemployment and all workers, subject to a The Agency is jointly funded RACE NIGHT
figures themselves can tell a qualification such as having by Thamesdown Borough Council,
better story than I. worked in the enterprise for a Allied Dunbar Charitable Trust REORGANISED
However, during this same certain period of time, have the and the Oxford & Swindon Co-
period there is a sector of our right to become members. operative Society. We can help The Race Night to raise funds for
the WASPS holiday playschemes
industry that has been experienc- Co-ops are now being formed you if you have a business idea advertised in the last Link for
ing record growth. The number in sectors of industry where they and/or skills which you think January 23rd was postponed.
of worker co-operatives has in- did not exist before, the biggest you can put into practice. We can Christmas got in the way and the
creased from 15 to 1,500 in fifteen increase is in the construction assist with Market Research, organising committee ran out of
years. There are now some 10,000 industry, closely followed by Business Plans, Financial Plan- time to pull everything together
worker-owners in Britain. manufacturing. New firms are ning, Looking for Finance, properly.
This growth is continuing, the being established in hi-tech fields Registration, Training and other
So . . . the grand WASPS
Industrial Common Ownership and professional spheres such as aspects of setting up a co- Video Horse Race Night will
Movement (ICOM), the national architecture. This is not a picture operative. If there is something now be held on April 9th instead.
membership organisation for of a weak movement struggling we cannot do then we will find Tickets will be on sale by the end
workers co-operatives, estimates to survive. The failure rate for co- someone who can. of February at the Link Centre,
that it is registering one new co- operatives has been estimated at We not only promote Workers Toothill and Freshbrook Com-
operative per day, and that does 5% per year, which is substan- Co-ops but also Community munity Centres.
not count those co-operatives tially better than the figures Businesses and Credit Unions. The Committee need sponsors
that do not register with ICOM. quoted by the Department of The first can raise funds for for horses. They cost £5.00
A co-operative is a company Industry for all new businesses. community projects as well as each. The winner of each filmed
owned and controlled by its There are presently six workers create jobs and the second is a race goes through to a grand final
members on a one-member, one- co-operatives in the Swindon financial co-operative. Perhaps and the winner of that race
vote basis, regardless of the area, operating in Hardware the Editor of Link will allow me stands to win £100. It could be a
amount of capital invested. Retailing, Adult Education, to write more about these in a good bet. For more details con-
The best known form of co- Printing, Wholefood Retailing, future edition. tact WASPS in the Community
operative is the retail society Video Production and Catering. In the meantime, if you want Suite in the Link Centre, tele-
such as the Oxford & Swindon These co-ops were instrumental to know anything further then phone 871212 ext. 234.

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