The Scops, worker and participatory cooperative societies, weathered the health crisis without incident: more than 70,000 employees now work in a cooperative, i.e. 32% more than in 2017. They aim to bring together 100,000 in 2026.
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The worker and participatory cooperative societies are currently holding their congress in Rennes. Increase in the number of jobs and turnover: the Scop have been carrying values that have been rising since the start of the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 coronavirus. More than 70,000 employees work today in a cooperative society, in a Scop. This is an increase of 32% compared to 2017. The movement is almost surprised by such success, and to have got through the health crisis without a hitch. “This means that not only will we keep our cooperatives, but also that our cooperatives have developed and that is still quite extraordinary!”enthuses Jacques Landiot, the president of the general confederation of Scop.
The Scop are democracy embodied in the company, with values that correspond perfectly to the new aspirations of employees, those that have appeared in favor of the health crisis. “A cooperative is owned by all of its employees and at the general meeting, one person has one vote, explains Jacques Landiot. This is the basis of our cooperative system and the leaders are elected by all the employees on the day of the general meeting. The second thing is the sharing of the results: when there are results, with us, we put 45% obligatorily in reserve for the employees, and there are dividends on the shares of capital, etc.
The general confederation of Scop commissioned a survey from Opinionway on the occasion of its annual congress. The results are flattering: 87% of employees say that cooperatives are companies with a future. 76% of managers share this opinion. 79% of employees to whom we explain how cooperatives work want to work in such a company. For Jacques Landiot, the engine of this attractiveness is transparency: “What people have with us is this transparency from their leaders, he indicates. That is to say that they know the strategy, since they are present at the general meeting, so they can conduct their business as they wish. This transparency is much demanded today by all employees.” The Scop have ambition: bring together 100,000 employees in 2026 and achieve ten billion euros in turnover.