SCOPE AND CONTENT OF THE PARTICIPATION OF COOPERATIVE MEMBERS IN ORDER TO DETERMINATE THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS

(A vision from the Law of Cooperatives of Euskadi)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the degree of participation of the members and the bodies to channel said participation in cooperative societies justify an autonomous and sufficient regime to determine the working conditions of the worker members and work members. To this end, the new Law of Cooperatives of Euskadi will be analysed, as an example. First, the scope of the term «participation» in the cooperative will be defined in general. Secondly, due to its relevance, the extension of the right to freedom of association that the Hight Court has recently made to cooperatives will be taken into consideration. Finally, it is about analyzing the justification for this extension to the cooperative field and assessing its adequacy to the corporate nature that the link between the cooperative and its members presents. Thirdly, the different forms and areas of participation that members have or can have will be analysed, which will serve to demonstrate that cooperatives present alternatives to the strictly labour or trade union model in terms of regulation of the work.