Worker Cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE)

Worker cooperatives are emerging as an organizational model responding to the changes within the world of work. They have a specific democratic governance structure of member-worker-owners, where decisions are made by those directly involved in the enterprise. Any type of business can be worker-owned and controlled as a cooperative, and worker cooperatives can provide ways for organizing new forms of work with less dependence on the employer and increased flexibility and collaboration among workers. The ILO’s work on worker cooperatives looks into how they are being used as a response strategy to the changes in the world of work, including through union engagement, worker buyouts, cooperatives of freelancers, as well as cooperatives using online platforms.