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Abstract

This article examines a number of collaborations between Trade Unions and the Third Sector in Valencia in the form of campaigns which they have promoted, the conditions under which these were established and the results which were obtained. Also explored are the tensions and disagreements which can occur between the actors in such collaborations.

The article is based on in-depth interviews with union and third sector representatives who have taken part in collaborations and the documentation they have provided. It is a largely descriptive examination.

The principal results of the collaborations have been to make more visible the problems which were the focus of campaigns, in some cases government commitment to address them, an improvement in the political climate and the consolidation of the coalitions. Tension arose between unions and third sector organizations when their collaboration was affected by the representative role of the trade unions.

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How to cite this article

GARCÍA CALAVIA, M.A. & RIGBY, M. (2022): “Collaboration (and conflict) in the relations between Trade Union and Third Sector”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 9-36. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.24524.

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Abstract

This article tests John Kelly’s thesis that trade unions and social movements are “natural allies”. To this end, it studies the actions of trade unions, 15M and third sector organisations in Spain in the context of the austerity policies promoted by the government after the economic crisis of 2008. After a theoretical review of the relations between trade unions and movements, and the contextualisation of the protests after the 2008 crisis, the article analyses the trade union response to the crisis and the relations of convergence and competition between trade union organisations, civil society organisations and the 15M movement. Subsequently, the trade union strategies of the creation of Mareas and the Social Summit are analysed. The results show that the trade union field and that of civil society organisations contain important fractures and contradictions that give rise to different trade union strategies, which makes it necessary to present some objections and nuances to the natural allies thesis. The article concludes that factors such as trade union traditions, political economy contexts, competition between organisations, and the characteristics of social movements themselves explain the diversity of ways of relating between trade unions and movements, making it necessary to develop more complex approaches that are sensitive to the specificities of each historical and geographical context.

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How to cite this article

RIBÓN, M.A. & ROCA, B. (2022): “Natural allies? Trade unions, social movements and third sector during the economic crisis of 2008 in Spain”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 37-64. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.23687.

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Abstract

Uruguayan cooperativism is characterized by strong links with guilds and unions, and the cooperative figure has often been a tool to address their demands. This is the case of the Cooperatives of Artists and Related Trades (CAOC), a new figure in the country, created as a result of negotiations between the Performing Arts Unions and the State, which seeks to include an informal and traditionally unprotected sector in the social security system. This paper analyzes, on the basis of a qualitative case study, the singularity of the relationship between these unions and the first two established artists’ cooperatives (Valorarte and Coopaudem). The objective is to understand the functioning of these organizations which, as observed in the joint approach to the COVID-19 crisis, are a clear example of the possibility of generating strategic alliances between unionism and cooperativism. The leading role played by trade unions in the process of estabishing this type of cooperatives, as well as in the founding of the aforementioned CAOCs, confirms the clear relevance of this ooperatives as a trade union tool. Likewise, it is noted that this quasi-symbiotic relationship presents strengths in the operational aspect and in the achievement of the goals of each organization, constitutes a novel and innovative modality, but also compromises the principles of free membership and cooperative autonomy. Finally, it is assessed that this relation deepens the weaknesses these organizations inclusion and links with the rest of the cooperative sector, with whom it has had little contact since its inception.

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How to cite this article

ROMERO, M. & TORRELLI, M. (2022): “Cooperative development based on labor union impulse. The case of Artist and related trades Cooperatives in Uruguay”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 65-91. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.24218.

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Abstract

The article gives an account of the result of the research developed in response to the call made by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) in 2021 to carry out a project that would identify the potential of the link between unions and cooperatives to organize workers in the informal economy in African and Latin American countries. Researchers from ODI, London, with the collaboration of researchers and practitioners from Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, identified and documented partnership examples through which to shed light development processes, identify learning on successes and challenges, and inform recommendations for future support. A country case study of Colombia is provided to illustrate the variety, complexity and possibilities of the topic studied. Three nascent partnership experiences, linked in different ways to the social and solidarity economy, demonstrate the potential of this approach to promote fair trade, responsible consumption and local markets, boost entrepreneurship and create decent working conditions for workers who traditionally face informality.

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How to cite this article

PÉREZ, C., HUNT, A. & BINAT SARWAR, M. (2022): “Organizing Workers in the Informal Economy in Selected African and Latin American Countries: The Potential of Trade Union Associations and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) partnerships”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 93-114. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.24261.

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Abstract

Cooperatives represent an ideal context for the expression of democratic values. In this respect, trade union organisations are called upon to play a fundamental role in our legal framework by articulating the defence of workers’ interests, both inside and outside companies. The confluence of trade union action and the democratic principles governing cooperatives is the subject of this study. Specifically, this paper analyses the collective bargaining carried out in cooperative societies, as an example of that confluence. The analysis takes into consideration, on the one hand, the characteristics of collective agreements and the representative bodies of workers that have negotiated them and, on the other hand, the content of the collective agreements that regulate trade union rights.

The analysis of the sample of collective agreements reveals a complete map of collective bargaining in cooperatives according to functional, territorial, and personal scope, as well as the nature of the workers’ representatives and the trade union organisations involved. Moreover, the paper detects how collective agreements regulate trade union rights not only improving the legally protected competences and guarantees but also ensuring the effective exercise of the right to freedom of association for all workers.

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How to cite this article

CANALDA, S. (2022): “The exercise of trade union rights in cooperatives: a study of their regulation in collective bargaining”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 115-144. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.24208.

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Abstract

This article analyses, from the trade union perspective, the proposal of the inclusive-participatory business model (IPM), designed and agreed upon by different people belonging to the political, trade union and business world of Euskadi. Despite the existence of various experiences in participatory companies in most countries of the European Union, in our country, this business model has had little development and practical implementation, being in the gestation process. The theoretical foundation of participation and the identification of existing models define the theoretical discussion.

Through personal interviews with members of the most representative unions in the Basque Country (CCOO, CGT, ELA, LAB and UGT) and of the Association of Friends Arizmendarrieta (ALE) and Foundation of Arizmendarrieta, as the promoters of the IPM, the study provides a qualitative analysis of the potentialities and limitations presented by the model, as well as the identification of the key elements to be taken into consideration in its institutional and organizational design, with a view to its development in business praxis. Moreover, the work provides elements of analysis that can serve a more complete and informed debate on the participation of workers in the company and thus allow progress, from the trade union perspective, in the development of participatory company models.

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How to cite this article

CHICA, Y. & RUIZ-ROQUEÑI, M. (2022): “Trade union organizations as agents of collaborative change. The inclusive-participatory business model”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 145-175. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.24224.

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Abstract

The collaborative economy or p2p sharing economy, a multifaceted concept of increasing relevance, is the focus of this paper. A critical review of the literature where the concept appears in publication was conducted, from which the main trends of the new phenomenon of digital platform neo-capitalism in the 21st century economy were identified.

From the traditional contradiction of labor and capital, a detailed analysis of the concept of “collaboration” as a translation of “sharing” is carried out, employing a chronological review of the main research publications that are shaping the dynamics of the new economic paradigm in the framework of greater efficiency, resulting from decentralization and heterogeneity.

The results indicate that much of the English-language literature has not been reviewed or translated into Spanish, including omission of associated concepts that are essential in understanding the future that economies will face. The privileging of English-language publication makes the literature inaccessible to Spanish and other non-English researchers. In conclusion, three recommendations are proposed. First, the development of active economic policies and intentional planning to address the new challenges. Second, the promotion of government interventions, beyond simple regulations, especially in the field of big data and in creating digital platforms. Third, the advancement of a new generation of platform cooperatives that would help to achieve a new balance in values, in the envisioned future of a turbo-capitalism and post-labor age.

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How to cite this article

HERNÁNDEZ CARRIÓN, J.R. (2022): “Deconstructing the “peer-to-peer sharing economy”: The challenge of the collaborative economy to platform co-operatives in the post-labor age of the 21st Century”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 177-204. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.17784.

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Abstract

The collaborative economy related to the transport of people, accommodation, food and the experience of experiences have gained greater prominence in the tourism sector. This research aims to assess four sharing economy platforms, Airbnb, BlaBlaCar, Eatwith and Trip4Real, based on scales of utility of use, trust, usefulness of reading and commenting, and intention to use and to recommend. In the evaluation of the platforms, the influence of sex, age and the way in which the study participants access them is analyzed. Methodologically, the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) method was applied was applied in a 2x2x2x4 factorial design (Generation x Group x Sex x Platform) to analyze the main effects and interactions between factors. The type of sampling is non-probabilistic, intentional, based on age and sex quotas. The final sample was 222 participants (n = 222). As a result, the Trip4Real platform, related to experiential tourism, is, in general, the one that arouses the highest degree of interest from the participants of the experiment, compared to other typologies. The factor with the most influence on the different measures has been the Group, corroborating the importance of approaching the different services of the collaborative economy analyzed from a real perspective or created need. On the other hand, the millennials are more receptive, show more confidence in the presented platforms and perceive the online comments issued as more useful.

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How to cite this article

BERBEL, G., REYES-GÓMEZ, J.D. & FONDEVILA-GASCÓN, F. (2022): “Utility, online reputation and intention to use four collaborative economy platforms. Multivariate analysis model (anova). Accommodations, trips, food, and experiences. Comparison of Airbnb, Blablacar, Eatwith and Trip4Real”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 205-232.

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Abstract

Worker cooperatives have played an essential palliative role in supporting the adverse effects of the capitalist system, while they have also been conceived from their beginnings as effective or potential spaces for social transformation. To address this second disruptive or transformative role, the article proposes to characterize the processes of political subjectivation that take place in the framework of collective work, through the concepts of subalternity, antagonism and autonomy. The methodological strategy is based on an in-depth study of Uruguayan cooperatives: two of them integrated by industrial workers, and two conformed by professionals. The main technique is the in-depth interview, complemented by participant observation and secondary source analysis. The analysis of the individual level involved the construction of a typology that considers the meaning that its members give to work in cooperatives, and distinguishes between militant workers, by necessity, indifferent and hybrid profiles. The results of the collective level show that the consolidation of antagonistic cooperatives, with a greater social impact, is related to the presence of ideological objectives, participatory models and a broad consideration of the reproductive plane and personal needs. For its part, the formation of subordinate cooperatives occurs when there are strong economic restrictions and when individualistic logics are reproduced, with a lack of participation and involvement of the members. It concludes on different notions associated with autonomy (such as self-determination, freedom, and vulnerability) and analyzes the extension of the results to other contexts.

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How to cite this article

VEAS, R. (2022): “Work in cooperatives and collective action. Political subjectivity as an analytical tool”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 233-261. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.21431.

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Abstract

In recent years, the Social and Solidarity Economy has found in social markets a strategy for its growth and strengthening. Social markets, understood as spaces where agents, experiences, resources and learning can be brought together around relations of production, distribution, financing and consumption based on social and environmental justice, reciprocity and mutual aid, are also experiences that allow the control of the productive processes that are articulated around them to be democratised and brought closer to the citizens. This article is based on the hypothesis that the climate for inter-cooperation that these spaces facilitate, in turn, allows progress to be made in the recovery of sectoral sovereignty in the hands of the citizenry. To this end, we have taken as a reference some remarkable experiences of the Basque Social Market in which, through intercooperation between various entities, it has been possible to make progress in terms of food, energy and financial sovereignty.

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How to cite this article

ARRILLAGA, P. & ETXEZARRETA, E. (2022): “Social markets and inter-cooperation in the Social and Solidarity Economy as a way to regain sovereignties: the case of the Basque Social Market ”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 263-288. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.18976.

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Abstract

The so-called ESG information (Environmental Social Governance) and specified in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is increasingly significant in economies around the world and contributes to the transparency of organizations. In this sense, the European and Spanish legal system establishes that companies include non-financial information on the environment, social aspects, and governance in their annual reports. This research aims to analyze the regulatory compliance or compliance of Spanish companies in environmental, social and governance matters from a multidisciplinary perspective: legal and economic. Qualitative research has been carried out through an exploratory, descriptive, and analytical study of the relationship between bad business practices that constitute criminal offenses during the period of December 2015 and December 2019 and their impact on the SDGs. The results demonstrate the importance of implementing risk prevention and management models in reports, as well as audit procedures for compliance with legislation on Environmental Social Governance (ESG). In addition, the negative impact of corporate crimes on a set of SDGs and goals that affect the Five Critical Areas of the Development Agenda (the five P`s) is evidenced by analyzing the sentences issued by the Spanish Supreme Court (TS) that they are a valuable source of quantitative and qualitative information that should be included in the “Non-Financial Statement” and in the Global Reporting of companies.

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How to cite this article

GUTIÉRREZ, H., CHAMIZO, J. & PUENTES, J. (2022): “Regulatory compliance on sustainable information of Spanish companies and its effects on the progress of the 2030 Agenda”, CIRIEC-España, Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 105, 289-318. DOI: 10.7203/CIRIEC-E.105.21991.