A worker co-op is a company owned and democratically controlled by its workers. 

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All employees are members of the co-op. They all have an equal vote in decisions about the business.

 

There are no outsiders taking decisions about the running of the organisation.

 

There are no outside shareholders reaping the profits - the workers are the shareholders, so all profit is shared between them. 

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  Why do we need a Workers Cooperative for Custom House?

 

 

Out of 7,000 people of working age, 1800 are claiming DWP benefits of some kind, 500 of whom are on JSA.

 

Over 3000 of those of working age have no qualifications.

 

Many of the low skilled and minimum waged are on Zero Hour contracts.

 

By creating a Workers Cooperative we aim to create secure, sustainable work and training with wages at least equal to the Living Wage of £8.80 per hour.

 

By taking people off of benefits and out of Zero hour contracts the members gain a wage that enables them to live rather than to exist, they become owners in their own business and start to take control over their lives instead of being controlled by the system.

 

 

 

   The Belfast Cleaning Society

 

 

The Belfast Cleaning Society was formed in April 2012, when 6 very determined women from both sides of the community got together and formed their cooperative.

 

These women were keen to work and wanted to get off benefits.

 

By forming a cooperative they have been able to win contracts and pay wages about £1.00 an hour above the average cleaners rate in Belfast.

 

They win the contracts by undercutting the opposition because they have no management salaries or shareholders to pay. Any dividends are ploughed back into the company and/or shared amongst the members.

 

Consequently they now employ full-time and part-time cleaners and have a queue of people waiting to join them.

 

This is the type of cooperative model we are keen to promote for Custom House.

 

 

 Are You Committed?

 

If you are a committed individual who would like to join us on this exciting new project and would like to help us build a lasting legacy for Custom House, please contact us with your details and a member of PEACH will get back to you soon.