Working Together: An Overview of Worker Mutual Assistance Organizations

摘要

Worker mutual assistance, defined as workers making decisions on issues which affect them, is intertwined with the emerging thrust toward cost-effective, responsive, self-help development. This review highlights exemplary cases of worker mutual assistance - in the form of production cooperatives and worker participation in management and in community development - in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. Production cooperatives, the focus of this review, are the smallest category of co-ops both in number and membership. Although a seemingly ideal type of organization for the development process, they have generally fallen short of their potential. Too often they serve the relatively affluent and lack broad participation in management; they also tend to enter ventures where success is rare. Several general themes emerge from this review. (1) Self-reliance in cooperatives, government, and industry is lacking. (2) Worker participation can improve productivity and product quality. (3) Technological and human capacity in developing countries are severely underutilized. (4) Worker groups, particularly co-ops, give little thought to multiplying the impact of their accumulated capital. (5) Harmony between managers and workers creates a common stake in enterprise development. (6) Worker-inspired improvements in the workplace or the community can have marked spread effects. In addition, specific recommendations are offered regarding low-cost participatory education, seminars, gathering and dissemination of information, and technical assistance in initiating projects.