Thematic page on the cooperative, social and solidarity economy
SSE: Care economy
Today, care is provided in myriad forms, from childcare and eldercare to care for persons living with a disability or illness. The need for care is growing worldwide, driven by demographic shifts including the growing ageing population and the rising number of persons living with chronic illnesses. As people-centred, principle driven, member-owned businesses, cooperatives are emerging as an innovative type of care provider, particularly in the absence of viable public or other private options.
23 April 2024
Cooperatives provide multiple services (e.g. day care, childcare, foster care and mental/developmental health care, etc.) to distinct populations including elders, children and adolescent youth, and persons living with disabilities or illnesses (mental and/or physical). There are quite a few cases of cooperatives in the care sector which are multipurpose in nature, reflecting the beneficiaries’ various yet overlapping care needs. Moreover, cooperatives also tend to have a multi-stakeholder nature by involving different stakeholders such as care providers and other workers, beneficiaries and service users, families of service users, governments and community agents, etc.
Cooperatives encourage the active participation of beneficiaries in care plans allowing for a more holistic approach to their needs. For workers of care cooperatives, cooperatives can provide improved wages and benefits or facilitate formalization and professionalization of care workers, especially when these are members of a cooperative.
The ILO works with the constituents, the cooperative movement and other partners to advance the role of cooperatives in care sector, including through technical supports for care workers’ cooperatives, research, and quality data collection.
See also
The ILO holds meeting on care provision through cooperatives with global and country level updates
Cooperative Care Provision as a Gender-Transformative Decent Work Solution
Lebanon: An assessment summary
Providing care through the social and solidarity economy - Lebanon
Providing care through the social and solidarity economy - Occupied Palestinian Territory
Zimbabwe: An assessment summary
Providing care through the social and solidarity economy - Zimbabwe
Colombia: An assessment summary
Providing care through the social and solidarity economy - Colombia
ILO hosts partners meeting on cooperative responses to advancing public health
Discussing next steps toward advancing universal health coverage through cooperatives
Cooperatives meeting informal economy workers' child care needs - A Joint ILO and WIEGO Initiative
Domestic workers in Trinidad and Tobago moving toward enhancing sustainability of their cooperative
Advancing domestic workers’ rights through cooperatives in Trinidad and Tobago: An ILO, NUDE and SWCC initiative
A step taken toward a common social cooperative framework in Turkey
Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work
Providing Care through Cooperatives 2: Literature Review and Case Studies
Exploring the potential of cooperatives in advancing universal health coverage
Domestic workers in Trinidad and Tobago develop a business plan for their cooperative
Spotlight Interviews with Cooperators
Italian social cooperatives working together for the benefit of the communities
Formalizing informal employment of domestic workers through cooperatives in Trinidad & Tobago
A First Step Toward Strengthening Domestic Workers’ Cooperatives in Trinidad and Tobago
Providing Care through Cooperatives 1: Survey and Interview Findings
Cooperatives
Cooperatives moving into the care economy
The Provision of Care through Cooperatives: From Global Trends to the Case of Italy
Working Paper
Cooperating out of Isolation: The Case of Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon, Jordan and Kuwait
Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 2
Cooperating out of isolation: Domestic workers’ cooperatives
Health Micro-Insurance Schemes: Feasibility Study Guide - 1 & 2
Health Micro-Insurance Schemes. Feasibility Study Guide. Volume 1: Procedure
Contribution of Mutual Health Organisations to Financing, Delivery and Access to Health Care
UNTFSSE participates in the Side event 2020 International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD): “Building Back Better: Action Toward a Disability-Inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable Post-COVID-19 World”
Sharing research findings on the potential of cooperatives in promoting universal health coverage
The untapped potential of health cooperatives
Transforming our world: A cooperative 2030 - Cooperative contributions to SDG 3