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Italian Co-operative System

Presented by Anna Di Mascio at the Transnational Meeting in Turin, Italy, June 1998.

The Social Economy in Italy can be divided into two areas:

• Consumer co-operatives (ie, housing)
• Work co-operatives (ie, organising work)

In the 1980's a new form developed that was linked to the above worker co-operatives:

• Social and health services that needed 'flexibility' through care and attendance ('total care')
• Creation of disadvantaged (including disabled people) people's co-operatives

Prior to these developments there was legislation that should have ensured that a percentage of disabled people found work through job centres. In reality this did not work and led in turn to the creation of the co-operatives. Within the co-operative system are found non-profit making organisations.

Social Co-operatives now form part of the '3rd Sector', which is still developing, but believe has been influential within Europe.

The setting up of Social Co-operatives followed no model, since there are none available, but involved the following support:

• training on how to set-up and development of individual skills
• promotion by Public Health and Welfare Staff
• existing co-operatives help in set-up

The co-operative, either disabled or non-disabled, can receive more entitlements and funding if they have 30% participants from Public Health and Welfare sector.

The co-operatives have to float on the market and within that prove how people can earn a living, which means they have to create real jobs. Another issue that has come out of the fact that there are now so many co-operatives is the setting of a national award/standard for the Social Co-operatives and their workers.

In relation to the project in Sardinia there are advantages in a Social Co-operative meeting the demand for producing, translating books for visually impaired people over the private sector:

• Joint ownership and management of their own work
• Tax and fiscal structures supported a 'bottom up' approach (only now is the private sector becoming interested)
• Co-operatives can receive Local Authority contracts without tendering

Sardinia, as a self-managed region, has local legislation in addition to the above:

• as part of the non-profit sector will receive lower taxation
• can receive up to 80% investment
• if 60% of the membership are young people under Law 28/'84 can receive 80% of the cost of facilities (the other 20% on easy term loan)
• shortly will be a new law on publishing which will be easy for co-operatives to comply with
• if skilled staff, ie social or health workers, make up 33% of its membership, the Social Co-operative can tender for social service contracts (this also applies to other regions)

The co-operatives are organised on democratic principles, with the levels of sub-divisions dependant upon their size.

Large co-operatives can have their own labour division, similar to an enterprise, whilst in small co-operatives the director may well also be the manager.

Co-operatives work specifically as a political association and enterprise in that people a nominated and then voted onto the Board. The nominees do not have to be members of the co-operative and are elected for a three-year term of office.

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