Jun 03 2020
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Complaint and letter to EU Commissioners: Discrimination of Social economy legal forms

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Our official complaint and our letter to the President and the Commissioners about discrimination of Social economy legal forms, State aids Covid 19. Services directive

Honorary President of the European Commission, Ms. Ursula Von Der Leyen

Honorable Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. Frans Timmermans

Commissioner of Internal Marketing, Mr. Thierry Breton

Commissioner for Jobs and Labor, Mr. Nicolas Schmit

Commissioner for Competition Ms. Margrethe Vestager

Director-General of Legal Service, Mr. Mr Luis Romero Requena

C/C co-chairs of Social Economy Intergroup in EP Mr Sven Giegold & Ms Patrizia Toia

president of Social Economy Europe, Mr Juan Antonio Pedreno

director of Social Economy Europe, Mr Victor Meseguer

Athens 2.6.2020

Subject: Discrimination of Social economy legal forms. State aids Covid 19. Services directive

Dear Ladies, Dear Sirs

I am Nikos Chrysogelos president of the social cooperative Anemos Ananeosis / Wind of Renewal in Athens running the innovative WELCOMMON HOSTEL, a hostel with social and green impact which is nowadays locked down. In this hostel we used to host groups of young tourists and a number of refugees offering them language courses, training for social insertion and social services for their children. It is also a center for social and green innovation and economy.

I am writing to you to complaint for a discrimination suffered in Greece by the entities of social economy, taking advantage of the letter addressed by Commissioner Mr. Nicolas Schmit to the national Governments on April 23, 2020, where he is calling on Member States to ensure strong support for the social economy at this time of serious crisis due to the COVID19.

In Greece, however, the social economy entities not only suffer from the lack of supportive policy from the national and regional authorities but in addition they are excluded from any aid, subsidies and other financial support related to the COVID19 crisis, as explained in the annex.

In practice, the terms and conditions imposed by Government decisions and by financial institutions, for lending to companies suffering from the crisis, prevent social enterprises from claiming financial support because they do not have the appropriate legal form. This is contrary to the statement found in the relevant Commission’s decisions, according to which all types of enterprises can profit from the State aid measures. This causes to us an inadmissible competitive disadvantage and it is a discrimination in violation of the Services Directive.

Given that the new COVID19 financial instruments should be addressed to all types of enterprises, you are kindly asked to take action in order to remedy to this inadmissible situation, by taking into account the particularities of the companies in the field of Social Economy.

Best regards

Nikos Chrysogelos

email: nikos.chrysogelos@gmail.com

mobile: 00306936672882

www.anemosananeosis.gr

www.welcommonhostel.gr

www.facebook.com/welcommonhostel

www.facebook.com/daysofwelcommon

www.facebook.com/WindofRenewal.SocialCooperatives/

www.instagram.com/welcommonhostel

Annex to the letter to EU Commission

SUBJECT: DISCRIMINATIONS AND EXCLUSION OF SOCIAL ECONOMY FROM RECOVERY MEASURES COVID-19

Introduction

  1. The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Mr. Nicolas Schmit, in a letter dated 23 April 2020 to the Ministers of Labor of the EU, calls on Member States to take all necessary measures to ensure strong support for the social economy entreprises.

State aide measures

  1. In the meantime, the Commission has adopted a Communication on Temporary Framework for State Aid Measures to support the economy in the current COVID-19 outbreak1 on the basis of which it approved a Greek guarantee scheme on this issue and an amendment to that scheme 2.

  2. These latter texts concerning State aids make it clear that Member States are authorized to grant various support measures to undertakings of all kinds in all sectors, as it is literally stated.

Discrimination of social cooperatives; Services Directive

  1. However, we consider that the cases described below, in the context of the application of the support measures, create a negative discrimination of social cooperatives on the grounds of their legal form, when compared with other types of businesses, using different legal form.

  2. We regard this situation as contrary to the provisions of the Services Directive Article 15(2)(b).

  3. Social and Solidarity Economy Enterprises in Greece are created in the form of Social cooperatives with limited liability (Koinsep in GR) and are governed by the Law 4430/2016. As such they are considered as companies by the Treaty Article 54 TFEU and therefore they are entitled to enjoy all rights recognized by EU law to enterprises.

  4. However, they are excluded from the “special purpose allowance” COVID-19 granted to other enterprises (800€) like limited and unlimited partnerships, liberal professions, private single person capital companies (Ministerial Decision 39162 ΕX 2020, Nat Gazette B 1457 – 16.04.2020).

  5. This aid measure excludes all kinds of social economy enterprises, even those locked down by Government Decision, like our Welcommon Hostel. This policy creates an unequal treatment regime since for the same code of commercial activity (in Greek KAD) other companies receive the aid of 800€ and others do not, depending on their form. The answer sent to our application reads as follows: “We would like to inform you that you are not entitled to the special purpose allowance, because the conditions of articles 2 and 3 of Decision 39162 EX 2020 are not met. Specifically: You are not a liberal professional or a self-employed person, owner of a sole proprietorship or a personal company or a private one-man capital company”.

  6. Exclusion from subsidies to the interest of professional loans. (Ministerial circular 32790/ par 13§1 3). All social economy enterprises are excluded from receiving subsidies on the interest they pay for their existing professional loans, for the simple reason that they are not capital based companies. In fact, applications are dismissed because credit institutions are bound to examine only demands of capital companies with limited liability. In reality the circular foresees that only the undertakings mentioned in Annex I of Company Law Directive 2013/34/EU, on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, are covered; and according to the Greek relevant declaration these are only public and private companies limited by shares (and the unlimited partnerships with shares) but not social cooperatives 4.

  7. Aid in the form of repayable advances: Facing a severe lack of liquidity, as all other tourist establishments, we tried to get informed about loans COVID19 from banks that act as intermediaries between European (or national) funds and the enterprises. We realized that the same problem appears also in this case, in the sense that a company applying for a repayable advance should not be an undertaking in difficulty according to the definition of Commission Regulation 651/2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market. However, only the companies mentioned in article 2 point 18 of this Regulation, are entitled to apply and these are again the types of companies that are mentioned to the Annex I of the directive 2013/34/EU, on the annual financial statements, as explained above.

Questioning the high rate for loans based on EU funds

  1. In addition we would like the Commission to renegotiate with the Greek authorities a number of points concerning aid conditions like interest rate of 8% or 10% levied by the banks that are intermediaries for repayable advances of Community funds, which is not reasonable neither and proportionate.

  2. Furthermore, if an amount is pledged as collateral by some members of social economy enterprises in order to help their undertaking – since for the legal entities it is impossible to access even European-funded loans – this sum which is deposited and blocked in the bank is granted an interest rate of 0.15% while the loan granted to the coop, like a repayable advance or open loan or otherwise, is charged with an interest rate of over 8%, which is exorbitant.

  3. It is almost impossible for social economy companies to benefit from a European-backed program such as Greek TEPIX I and II in support for small undertakings, given that banking criteria both before and during the crisis exclude them. There are examples of such exclusions, even for innovative business plans which, if they were presented by other legal forms of business would be sure to be included in the financing program.

Absence of favorable environment

  1. At present, any application for a COVID 19 State aid should be signed by an accountant declaring that “the loss the company suffered in 2019 is less than 50% of registered capital”. However, it is very likely that the majority of Greek social economy enterprises have suffered losses in previous years, either due to a crisis or due to investments made as start-ups and are therefore nowadays excluded from loans for cash flow, although not in bankruptcy or similar procedure.

  2. For example, a social economy business in tourism, as is the case of our Welcommon Hostel, that started in 2018 without subsidies or loans but only with funds from members and friends, needs at least 3-4 years to reach a degree of economic viability. Therefore, it is perfectly normal to have losses in previous years. And for this reason, it is now being prosecuted and risks bankruptcy, as it does not have access to the necessary cashflow and restart liquidity.

  3. Hygiene and safety measures, especially for the tourism and catering industry, are costly (cleaners, disinfectants, uniforms, physician, insurance, staff training, equipment required, etc.), while the environment in which these businesses are back after the crisis is uncertain. In addition, obligations (rent, electricity etc) have not been written off and many costs had to be paid within the lockdown period. In Greece banks are asking for a mortgage or other real surety or even a deposit at least equal to the requested cash flow, as a prerequisite for considering such a demand.

  4. However, it should be noted that according to the information published by the Ministry of Labor (2017) concerning social economy there are €161 million from European Community funds in order to finance the Greek “Action Plan for the development of the social economy 2017-2023 ” out of which less than 1% (+-1.3 m) is committed.

Measures to support employment

  1. If employment and training in green and socially good jobs are not supported today, we will see soon an increase of the number of jobless people, especially in countries with already high unemployment rates, such as Greece. The measures to support employment through “community service”, within local authorities, or in public or semipublic organizations etc., implemented for several years, do not give to social economy enterprises a chance to actively participate and draw an advantage; and this despite the fact that the funding of the program comes from the European Social Fund and that the role of the social economy in social and professional integration is well known as this was pointed out in the letter of Commissioner N.Schmit to the Member States.

  2. While many European countries have already implemented national and regional employment support programs through the social economy, there has been no similar planning in Greece. However, at European level, before and after the crisis, social economy businesses were considered to be a key tool for reducing unemployment and for training unemployed and socially vulnerable young people to subjects and professions that are important for social and ecological sustainability, green – circular economy and digital modernization.

  3. Unfortunately, in Greece the European Social Fund resources continue to be treated as unemployment benefits to reduce its extreme dimensions but by no means as tools for the promotion of a social economy enterprise nor as means for the insertion to the work of the most vulnerable people. In fact, jobless people are not offered experience in important, sustainable and promising areas of activity, like health and safety areas, social and green innovation, or digital modernization; in other words these national programs do not create the conditions for finding a long-term job after the end of support programs.

  4. The actual policy of Greek authorities concerning investment and training programs should be revisited since the resumption of business activities cannot anymore be based on the operating conditions of the past. In this context social economy enterprises can play an important role as training vehicles.

  5. We urge you to ask the Member State to remove all obstacles and discrimination against social economy in Greece especially when European financial resources are used for this objective. The actual suffocating environment does not help to attain the recovery of the economy and employment through social, digital, and green transition.

3 https://www.taxheaven.gr/circulars/32790. See also Min Decision 37674, of 10/4/2020 point 4§4, Law 4683/2020 ratifying Act of Legislative Content, article 6; National Gazette Α’ 68/20-03-2020

Jun 02 2020
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Reinforcing the European Youth Employment Policy through the European Green Deal

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How we can reinforce the European Youth Employment Policy through the European Green Deal after the COVID-19 crisis?  A proposal submitted to the European Commission by World Future Council, the partners of the EUKI_YESclima project (between them WindofRenewal/AnemosAnaneosis and the BMBF funded project GRÆDUCATION (between others F.I.A.P.)

Memorandum submitted to the European Commission by World Future Council1, the project YESclima in the European Climate Initiative “EUKI”2 and the BMBF funded project GRÆDUCATION3

The following proposal refers to the outstanding tasks of the member states to elaborate programmes on how to apply the European Youth Guarantee and the finances provided for this in their countries. It aims to relate the programme to green recovery policies and the challenges of climate protection in Europe in the next years.

  1. Introductory remarks

The signatories strongly welcome the European Commission’s initiative to “reinforce the Youth Guarantee” as part of the Commission Work Programme for 2020, and to reshape this instrument to support young people in gaining work experience and developing skills which are specifically relevant both for a green and digital transition, as well as to boost employability in the green economy. There is no doubt that the unforeseen COVID-19 crisis, which has had a firm grip on the world since the beginning of 2020, will plunge it into a deep recession. It is feared that unemployment will rise massively in all affected regions of Europe. Given the already high unemployment rate among young women and men in Europe and as a consequence of the economic depression by and after the COVID-19 crisis, the exclusion of (not only!) the European youth from economic activities will increase.

The youth labour market is highly sensitive to economic cycles and in times of economic crises, youth employment is hit more strongly by economic shocks than adult employment. Young workers are often “first out”. According to the OECD, “almost 1 in 10 jobs held by workers under 30 were destroyed during the [2008] crisis. In Spain, Greece and Ireland, the number of employed youth halved between 2007 and 2014”.4 A decade later, youth employment has still not recovered to pre-2008 crisis levels.5 Southern and Eastern European countries are most impacted by youth unemployment,6 and the COVID-19 crisis is likely to critically exacerbate this situation in these regions. We would also like to highlight that in economic crises, young women in particular are more often excluded from the labour market and from economic activities.

The present situation offers a unique chance for all EU countries to reshape the economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis into a green recovery, by implementing the goals set out in the European Green Deal  (EGD) and the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), according to the EU Regulation 1999/2018. The EU has set an ambitious goal for 2050: to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, we are still far from achieving this objective, which makes it more necessary than ever to redouble the efforts of member states to work in this direction. Society will have to significantly reduce current levels of energy consumption without giving up living standards. At the same time, that energy must be produced mainly by renewable sources. Europe, being a continent with a large coastline, will have to start exploiting clean marine energy to a greater extent.  This will create new business and service opportunities for which today’s youth will need to be prepared. To realise these aims, a well-equipped, creative young workforce is desperately needed.

In our opinion, youth employment policies generally, and the European Youth Guarantee in particular, should be geared towards increasingly preparing young people specifically for tasks and professions that are important, indeed indispensable, for the sustainable and environmentally compatible future of business and society. Therefore, support should not only be provided to accommodate young people in existing work contexts. Instead, the focus should be on employment in innovative, emerging professions that are important for a sustainable Europe and in creating jobs with a focus on “Green Skills”. Activities that aid decarbonisation and quickly achieve climate neutrality are central to this. Yet in most European countries, the existing training and other measures do not cover the demand of “Green Skills” and the needs of modern labour markets. Jobs and services related to renewable energies, circular economy and sustainable development have to be created and existing professional profiles have to be redefined.

  1. Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee

As civil society organisations working in the field of youth employment, sustainability, and good policies, we would like to structure our ideas in 5 blocks relating to issues raised by the European Commission to discuss a redesign of the European Youth Guarantee with civil society.

  1. What are the most significant challenges for young people in their first transitions to the labour market and in which areas could the Youth Guarantee be reinforced?

Generally, we concur with the analysis by the European Commission, but we stress the importance of linking the problem of youth unemployment to the current devastating situation caused by the pandemic, as a consequence of which youth unemployment will skyrocket. Given the upcoming recession, we call on the European Commission and EU-countries to urge the implementation of national Youth Guarantee Implementation Plans and to adapt them to the current situation.

  1. How could the Youth Guarantee better support employability of young people in vulnerable situations, including those living in rural / remote areas?

Besides improving the educational path to afford every young person access to decent and green jobs, no matter his or her background, we also strongly believe that vocational training provides for better employability. To improve vocational education the following conditions are required:

  1. Vocational preparation should already be closely linked to professional practise to raise awareness for the needs and opportunities of labour markets.

  2. A large majority of young people with fewer qualifications are less equipped in mathematics, digital technologies and in their capacity to deal with texts. Thus, basic skills in these areas should be imparted into the educational background, to empower young people in the use of innovative, green technologies.

  3. Enhancing soft skills should already be a crucial part during vocational preparation in order to create the foundation needed for vocational training. Skills that can be summarised under the term entrepreneurial skills should also be considered.7

  4. Vocational preparation is an excellent method to raise awareness and build motivation towards gaining the necessary green skills the green labour market needs.

  5. The vocational preparation phase should be limited to a clear time frame.

Given these conditions and considering the European Green Deal (EGD), we believe that the following fields of activities will be increasingly in demand in the coming years. Targeted professional preparation within the framework of the European Youth Guarantee or other programmes such as the “NEW Skills Agenda” support this development.

  1. EGD 2.1.2: focuses, among other things, on combating energy poverty. To specifically address households suffering from energy poverty, we suggest that young people from the same social milieu should be qualified and engaged as communal energy consultants. Their work would focus on energy and cost savings in everyday life and provide contacts to public offers (such as microcredit and grants for devices for energy generation and use). This calls for funding from public budgets. In this field there will be an increasing need of new services in the coming years. Young people should be trained to develop new service ideas related to energy saving and the support of users in sustainability-oriented performance.

  2. EGD 2.1.4: Energy and resource-efficient construction and renovation also create employment opportunities in the building trade in areas for which low-threshold professional preparation is required. This could be attractive to young people from rural areas, especially if they were already frequently engaged in practical construction work, for example in family and neighbourly contexts. In addition, there is an increasing importance of construction activities that rely on regionally available, resource-saving, climate-adapting and health-promoting materials and construction methods. Examples of this are construction with straw, wood, and clay, which, particularly in rural areas, can build upon cultural traditions that have largely been lost. Appropriate vocational preparation with a close practical relevance seems promising to us. Companies should be closely involved in the programmes, particularly regarding sustainable construction. This has a motivational effect on young people and gives companies the opportunity to access and retain skilled workers.

  3. EGD 2.1.5: Climate-friendly, sustainable mobility will become more and more important. Bicycles and electric micro mobility solutions should be considered as regular means of transportation, especially in urban areas. This will also significantly increase the demand for bicycle workshops and experts for electric scooters and micro mobility devices. The repair and maintenance of mobility solutions requires highly practical training due to the use made of complex but comparatively transparent technology.

  4. EGD 2.1.6: (“Farm to Fork”) provides for a restructuring of agriculture that supports biodiversity and prevents soil degradation due to erosion and disturbance in the water balance. This requires a wide range of activities that go far beyond conventional agriculture as done today. Targeted vocational preparation can especially motivate young people in rural areas to be engaged in different fields, e.g. in the restoration of biodiversity-rich zones (cf. EGD, p. 16), in the creation of shelters in agricultural work (field edges, hedges etc.), the creation of wildflower meadows as habitats for insects and birds or in agroforestry (EGD, p. 16). These tasks could be financed by the EU agricultural programmes, the corresponding restructuring of which is imperative for “Farm to Fork”.

  5. The climate adaptation sector, which will become increasingly important in the future, particularly in densely populated urban areas, has not been considered in the EGD so far. This calls for a wide field of professional preparation and later fields of activity, such as urban greening and maintenance, greening of buildings, rainwater management and natural techniques to cool buildings in general.

  6. EGD 2.1.7 (preserving and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity): In addition to our proposals on “Farm to Fork” (point 4, above), this opens up work and career prospects in the restoration of valuable natural areas in general, but also in comprehensive and large-scale reforestation programmes in large parts of the European Union, in the protection and improvement of forest ecosystems, in preventive measures against the growing danger of forest fires, and in the renaturation of water bodies, river courses and wetlands.

  7. The aforementioned situation during and after COVID-19 will encourage teleworking. Here, we have an opportunity to create new jobs in rural or remote areas. New technologies (e.g. Virtual Reality applications) provide the opportunity to experiment with innovative technologies even if the infrastructure is missing in local contexts.

  1. How could the quality of Youth Guarantee interventions be improved further – both directly and indirectly?

Leaving no one behind and reaching out to young people in vulnerable situations require, beside interventions like the European Youth Guarantee, an enhanced educational system with progressive pedagogies, and technical and vocational training providing 21st century skills. Quality education and education for sustainable development are key components of innovation to help learners develop fundamental skills, knowledge, and competencies such as critical thinking, STEM,8 scenario planning and collaborative decision making, and problem solving. Therefore, improving the quality of Youth Guarantee interventions also calls for transforming educational systems. There are inspiring policies across the EU, such as Scotland’s youth employment strategy “Developing the Young Workforce”.9 This strategy brings together the education system based on learning for sustainability, employers, civil society, youth organizations and local authorities, in order to reduce youth unemployment and to promote pathways for young people to participate in current and future work opportunities.

With regard to the topic of entrepreneurship, the Welsh Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy (YES Strategy) is another inspiring policy that boosts youth entrepreneurship.10 Developed through broad consultations with stakeholders, the YES Strategy is based on the vision to develop and nurture self-sufficient, entrepreneurial young people in all communities across Wales. It is addressed to young people until the age of 25, is funded by the Welsh Government and involves a wide range of local stakeholders, from youth organisations to businesses and schools or Higher Education Institutions. In terms of impact, the YES Strategy achieved a considerable change in young people’s attitudes and their early-stage entrepreneurial activity.

Investigating the actual impact of previous Youth Guarantee interventions is crucial to discovering which measures were successful. Future interventions should focus primarily on such proven interventions and in any case should be monitored in detail.

One approach to improve the quality of interventions could be to train providers of trainings in self-evaluation and optimisation. They should develop awareness for the function of self-evaluation and should be equipped with evaluation instruments. Basic skills for self-evaluation can significantly improve the quality of measures.

  1. In which ways will the civil society contribute to and support effective implementation of the reinforced Youth Guarantee?

It is important that civil society as well as tertiary education institutions recognise the value of the Youth Guarantee programme. In particular, it is desirable that young people can play a valuable role by creating a sustainable economy and society while at the same time developing their competences, gaining independence, and finding employment. Our proposal is intended to help prepare young people for jobs related to the European Green Deal, including specifically the promotion of energy saving (in industry, transport, and construction) and consequently the reduction of CO2 emissions.

The focus on climate protection and sustainability in a redesign of the European Youth Guarantee contributes to improving awareness of the importance of reducing environmental impact by changing energy consumption and transportation habits. This awareness will lead to a new sustainable and social mindset in civil society and tertiary education institutions which contributes to the successful implementation of the programme.

The sustainable redesign of the European Youth Guarantee requires new green training offers for young people and the development of innovative job profiles. The success of this measure will depend on the demand by civil society for these new offers. One of many examples are the energy rehabilitation works of buildings which have to be encouraged and which need new forms of services. These interventions should be promoted by public administrations, in order to ensure:

– the adequate training of young people who would carry out energy audits; 

– the detailed study of energy audits, which must include measures to reduce energy consumption and the use of renewable energy;

– the correct implementation of the recommended measures.

For all of the above, it will be necessary to create new jobs that public administrations should promote. The Youth Guarantee is an adequate programme to achieve this task.

  1. What are or would be the most useful ways for the Commission to support the implementation of the reinforced Youth Guarantee?

From our point of view, the best investment that the EU can make through its Youth Guarantee programme is the adequate training of young people to create new jobs that are in line with the European Green Deal. Regarding technical competences, there is a lack of efforts to integrate green skills and digital skills in existing qualifications (greening of trainings). Unfortunately, traditional vocational qualifications do not necessarily require developing competences to support one’s own employability, to act independently and creatively, to solve challenging situations and to deal with people in professional activities. In countries with high youth unemployment, proposals should be made for improving pre-vocational and vocational qualifications and for designing corresponding measures. These should form part of the educational system already. In addition, in many southern European and especially in Eastern European countries, the fight against youth unemployment has to be redesigned to meet and adapt to future challenges. For example, current measures tackling youth unemployment are often related to occupational fields that will no longer be relevant in a few years. Thus, it is necessary to raise awareness of the economic potential of a green recovery. Co-creative ideas and strategies should be developed and tested in interdisciplinary, international pilot projects. Together with local political and institutional partners these activities and measures should be implemented. They should be subject to participatory monitoring and evaluation and optimised continuously.

World Future Council

https://www.worldfuturecouncil.org

Samia Kassid, Senior Programme Manager, Rights of Children and Youth

samia.kassid@worldfuturecouncil.org

YESclima

https://www.euki.de/euki-projects/yesclima/

Francisco José Sánchez de la Flor, Profesor Titular de Universidad de Cádiz

francisco.flor@uca.es

(responsible for YESclima on behalf of University of Cádiz)

Pablo Quero García, Agencia Provincial de la Energía de Cádiz

pablo.quero.garcia@dipucadiz.es

Wind of Renewal, Greece

https://anemosananeosis.gr

Nikos Chrysogelos

nikos.chrysogelos@gmail.com

Sekretariat für Zukunftsforschung Berlin

https://www.hartwig-berger.de/cms/

Hartwig Berger

hartwig.berger@t-online.de

Forschungsinstitut für innovative Arbeitsgestaltung und Prävention e.V. im Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen

https://fiap-ev.org/

Silke Steinberg, Head of Institute
s.steinberg@fiap-ev.org

1 The World Future Council works on solutions to some of the most pressing challenges by finding and spreading exemplary laws and policies that have a proven record of producing positive impacts both for current and future generations, working with parliamentarians, policy makers and relevant stakeholders as well UN bodies at an international level. www.worldfuturecouncil.org.

2 In the project YESclima (“Young Energy Experts working for climate-friendly Schools”, 2018-2020), 22 young women and men from Greece and the Spanish province Cádiz, are elaborating energy-audits and proposals to make school building more energy efficient, mainly with “smart” natural techniques and using solar energy. The project is managed by the University of Cádiz (leader), the Greek “Wind of Renewal” (Athens), the “Sekretariat für Zukunftsforschung” (Berlin) and the Energy Agency of the province of Cádiz (all implementers). The project is integrated in the “European Climate Initiative” (EUKI), founded and financed by the German Ministry for Environment, Natural Protection and Nuclear Safety.

3 The BMBF funded project GRÆDUCATION provides important solutions to this problem in Greece. Together with the Greek Employment Agency O.A.E.D. and the Greek Ministry of Education, FIAP e.V. and the German-Greek Chamber of Industry and Commerce are initiating collaborations between German and Greek vocational educators to “green” technical training and qualifications. In addition, the focus is also on interdisciplinary, transformative aspects, which aim at the “green” empowerment of young people.

4 http://www.oecd.org/youth.htm (last accessed 29 May 2020).

5 http://www.oecd.org/youth.htm (last accessed 29 May 2020).

6 For example, in Andalusia, a southern Spanish region, 44.7 percent of the total population aged 16 to 25 years were unemployed in the first trimester of 2020. https://datosmacro.expansion.com/paro-epa/espana-comunidades-autonomas/andalucia (last accessed 29 May 2020).

7 This includes: responsibility, independent learning, ability to work in a team, problem solving skills, flexibility, creativity, communication skills. These skills enable young people to develop their biography independently and self-determined.

8 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Jun 01 2020
0

ILO: ooperatives and other social and solidarity economy organizations will be instrumental into the medium to long term recovery

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Greetings from the Cooperatives Unit of the International Labour Organization  in Geneva.

This a moment of great disruption. Full or partial lockdown measures have affected more than 5 billion people around the world. Recent ILO estimates indicate that more than 436 million enterprises are at risk. Millions of workers around the world are without a job and unable to sustain themselves and their families. To die from hunger or from the virus” is an all-too-real dilemma faced by 1.6 billion informal economy workers, half the world’s total workforce of 3.3 billion. Values of solidarity and cooperation are more needed today than ever.

Historically, such values experience a surge in popularity during such times of crises, including financial crises, natural disasters and conflicts. This was the around the financial crisis  in Argentina, the global financial crisis  and the debt crisis  in Greece. Similarly, cooperatives and wider SSE organizations have been key community actors in responding to public health epidemics such as AIDS (Swaziland, Vietnam) , the relief and reconstruction efforts after natural disasters (Japan, Australia) and in post conflict settings  (Sri Lanka, Rwanda).

In the face of the pandemic and its aftermath business activities for many cooperatives and wider SSE organizations have suffered across sectors. While some sectors, such as food retail, may have seen a surge in business most others have seen a total stoppage or dwindling of their activities. In order to serve their members and communities, many of the cooperatives in the rural and informal economies are having to adapt and innovate in responding to needs pandemic and its aftermath. Others struggle to figure out how to access government relief measures in countries where such measures exist.

Cooperatives and wider social and solidarity economy organizations are also mobilizing to provide relief for their workers, members, and communities in different aspects of the crises in the immediate to short term. Their support ranges from ensuring workplace safety and working conditions and stabilizing supply chains to shifting production toward much needed supplies, broadening access to relevant information on COVID-19 and advocating with governments to influence their policies to support their members and communities.

Credit unions and financial cooperatives are providing liquidity support to affected micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in countries such as Kenya, France, Ethiopia, Italy, Uganda and Canada. They are setting up solidarity funds and crowdfunding initiatives to support local businesses and vulnerable people.

Some cooperatives have transformed their products and services to meet urgent local needs for protective equipment, food supplies and care support. They shifted production toward much needed supplies like hand sanitizers and face masks and distributed them for high risk populations and frontline workers. Health cooperatives, including pharmacy cooperatives, are establishing support funds and distributing protective gear for their members, workers in essential enterprises and health care workers who are on the frontline of the public health care crisis.

Producer and consumer cooperatives are among key players keeping supply chains of essential foods and goods moving while also relocalizing production especially when produce coming from elsewhere is blocked. Agricultural cooperatives and consumer cooperatives have created direct supply chains in Japan. Coop Denmark’s Savannah project advances direct trade with Kenyan coffee producer cooperatives by shortening the value chain, enhancing product quality and building export capacities for producer cooperatives in the process.

Cooperatives and SSE organizations with strong presence in their communities are fulfilling a series of community support functions. Cooperatives in Italy are helping vulnerable people who cannot go shopping by themselves including in partnership with municipalities. Those in Japan and Korea are providing lunch boxes for disadvantaged elementary school children during school closures. In France they are producing service vouchers for disadvantaged populations, such as homeless people, for use in affiliated establishment offering hygiene and food services.

It is the nature of crises to expose new faults in a system or widen existing ones. Some thinkers predict a new global order. They point toward a rediscovery of the value of social state, especially as it pertains to health, education, social assistance. This is also a time when many people are realizing the need for transformative business practices that do not only care for the economic bottom line only, but also about social and environmental ones.

The value of cooperatives is recognized in the immediate crisis response. In some countries, like Italy and South Korea they are included in both consultation and implementation processes of government support measures. Their existing infrastructure and networks help in understanding emerging needs and implement support measures in an effective way.

What is important is that even after the crisis their role in the recovery and transformation of societies and economies beyond the immediate, but in the medium and long term is recognized. Toward that end it will be important for cooperative organizations to disseminate the knowledge on how cooperatives can help with enterprise transformation for instance in the case of bankruptcies, supporting worker-buy-outs of businesses through worker cooperatives can help preserve jobs.

Cooperative advocates can also share examples of how platform cooperatives work. Domestic workers and home-care workers in the US have been establishing their cooperatives using online applications. They are essential workers for ageing societies, but also face a deficit of affordable, accessible care services.

During these challenging times, at the ILO Cooperatives Unit we would like to reaffirm our solidarity with the cooperative and wider social and solidarity economy movements. We are convinced that cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy organizations will be instrumental beyond the emergency phase and well into the medium to long term recovery in the affected countries, as we have seen in many other crises contexts across history. We have all the confidence that th