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The Potential of Worker Co‐operatives in Queensland
Author(s) -
Halladay Allan,
Peile Colin
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1991.tb00893.x
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , productivity , politics , project commissioning , public relations , unemployment , ideology , work (physics) , publishing , economic growth , sociology , political science , business , economics , engineering , mechanical engineering , law
Australia's response to problems of unemployment, low productivity, industrial peace and individual and societal wellbeing, currently emphasises macro economic policy and the Accord. However, a small minority continue to call for the democratisation of business enterprises. The worker co‐operative is one such mechanism. Following the location of several small groups attempting to work co‐operatively and a survey of the attitudes of critical sectors of the community, this sympathetic and we hope, realistic analysis was undertaken of the potential of worker co‐ operatives in Queensland. Major issues of concern were economic viability, ideology, attitudes of unions and the involvement of the ‘disadvantaged’. We argue that worker co‐operatives can be viable; can tap a broad central band of the political spectrum; can co‐operate with unions; and can play a role in meeting the needs of disadvantaged groups, given a supportive environment While there are strong moral arguments for supporting such alternative approaches to economic organisation, the environment in Queensland is not sympathetic and the task is immense. Those wishing to take up this challenge should focus on education, research, lobbying, dialogue and enterprise development strategies and on the movement phase of co‐operative development.