The Basque Confederation of Cooperatives is being restructured to strengthen its role as a defender of cooperative interests in the Basque economic sphere.

The world of Basque cooperatives held a meeting at the end of April. There, it was decided to move from the former Commonwealth to Confucius, when the effects of the coronary virus-induced health crisis hit the economy hard. Confederation President Rosa Lavín examines the situation below and makes some predictions, although she made it clear that no clear statement can be made about economic developments at this time.

Konfekoop, new name

"Until now, Erkid had different organizational structures, federations for each sector, and a few months ago it was decided to start the reorganization process, which ended on April 29, when we held a special meeting to present a single organizational structure called Konfekoop. "With this change, we want to strengthen our role as a lobby in defending the interests of group cooperatives."

Internal operation

"It is built around three special bodies. On the one hand, there is the Confederation of Cooperatives of the Basque Country, whose function will be the one already carried out by the Commonwealth, which mentions tasks to prepare advice, information, programs and proposals, etc. It is also lobbying, defending cooperative interests The second body is the General Council of Cooperatives of the Basque Country, which represents the Confederation of Basque Cooperatives, the Basque Government and the three universities of the Basque Country (UPV / EHU, Mondragon University and Deusto). and one that is committed to encouraging existing ones. "

Konfekoop

"We are one of the most significant organizations in the Basque economic field. Among other figures, I would like to point out that we have added more than a hundred new cooperatives in the group in 2019, up from 1,233 on 31 December last year. The companies associated with Konfekoop employed 56,362 people. These are, in my opinion, important data that should be emphasized in order to provide an image of our representation in Basque economic activity. "
"It has affected each co-operative in different ways, depending on its sector and size. We have not yet carried out a detailed analysis of the effects of Covid-19 on Basque co-operatives, as the situation is changing a lot, but I can say that co-operatives are affected. out of reality. In that regard, I would say that it is important to have muscles like the cooperative world. "

Characteristics to support recovery

"It is the main force that will help us deal with this situation. Remember that we are an economic model, but also a social one. Values ​​such as solidarity and mutual support will positively affect our ability to react. Our commitment is first to care for health and then work. promoting the maintenance of distribution and employment ".

Employment retention formula

"The key is self-management. Cooperative companies can self-manage, adapting to simple situations.