Emerging Trends in Worker-Cooperatives in a Changing World of Work: Implication for Community Development in Nigeria

Abstract

Worker-cooperatives are emerging as organizational structures responding to the trends within the world of work, ranging from technological, economical to social trends. They have a specific democratic governance structure of management and members being the workers and they are also in charge of decisions making in the enterprise. As part of the trends in a changing world of work, worker-cooperatives use different spectrums of technologies for local and international work performance. They buy out or take over business organizations that are failing as a result of the financial and economic crisis and transform the business organizations into productive enterprises. They also generate employment for members and non-members, provide financial assistance to members and non-members at a reduced interest rate and help to train community members to be proficient in different fields of endeavour. Obviously, in the Nigerian society today, worker-cooperatives are agents of bringing development in urban settlements and rural communities.