The Labour movement, co-ops and mutuals

22 December 2015

Generally, labour historians have overlooked the relationship between unions, co-operatives and mutuals. In Australia, unions have played an important role in establishing and promoting both credit unions and private health insurance funds such as the Maritime Workers Credit Union and Westfund.

Unionists, particularly miners, played an important role in establishing consumer co-operatives. More recently unions have become involved in jointly managing industry superannuation funds with employers. There has been a diversity in the nature of the relationships between the labour movement and co-operative movement, both in Australia and internationally. As employers, co-operatives and mutuals can play a role in pioneering and promoting better working conditions for workers, but they can also enter into conflict with unions that can result in industrial action.

In order to explore this relationship further between the labour movement and the sector, the University of Sydney’s Business School have made a call of papers on the subject. Further details on the project and the contact details.