When factories close: A co-operative light at the end of the tunnel

02 October 2015

Last night’s edition of ABC Radio’s Big Ideas programme broadcast highlights of a BCCM panel on worker co-operatives held recently as part of the ACTU Congress fringe.

Guardian journalist Van Badham, BCCM CEO Melina Morrison and Rick Duke from the new Fleurieu Poultry worker co-operative discussed the business model which is widely transferable and empowers workers to have a say in their future as both owners and employees.

The discussion focussed on the future for factory workers following the decision by Inghams to close their Aldinga Turkey processing factory on the Fleurieu Peninsula in regional South Australia. Fleurieu Poultry has been fighting to secure future employment and the viability of the region.

Australian, American and Spanish example of worker co-operatives:
Green jobs in the Latrobe Valley
Saving jobs in downtown Cleveland
Spanish co-operative economy puts workers at the centre