Member Organisations

The Cooperative Union

The Co-operative Union is the apex organisation for co-operatives in the UK. It co-ordinates, informs and advises member societies and speaks on their behalf. Collective protection is strengthened by liaison with Government at local, regional, national and European levels and by affiliation to International Co-operative Alliance.

Services include standard setting and benchmarking for commercial, social and co-operative performance and accounting practices; monitoring and measuring good governance, providing statistical data, and legal, constitutional and governmental support services.
Through the Co-operative Party, consumers are given a direct voice in national and European Union legislation. Through the Co-operative College it seeks to provide appropriate and relevant education and training.

Profile

Membership of the Union encompasses all the major retail consumer societies and their associated federal co-operatives, such as the the Co-operative Group (the worlds largest retail consumer co-operative), Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS), Co-operative Press, National Co-operative Chemists and Shoefayre and, following a merger in December 2001, now includes the worker co-operative sector and other democratically owned businesses. It also embraces organisations responsible for co-operatives in other sectors of the economy.

The Co-operative Union is the national federation of co-operative societies in the United Kingdom. Without the Union, it is fair to say that there would be no Co-operative Movement in this country. It is the one body which unifies 45 retail societies and a large number of other co-operative organisations in such areas as national policy representation and collective protection. Additionally, it provides members with a number of important professional services.

The Union is not a trading organisation. It was originally formed in 1869 to link together the scattered co-operative societies of that time, to organise new societies and to spread knowledge of co-operative principles and practice.

Now that the Movement is well established, and the number of consumer societies has reduced in line with national policy, the Union's primary role is to co-ordinate, inform, advise and influence member co-operatives and act as their national spokesperson.

The Union also represents, promotes and protects the interests of its members through its affiliation with such bodies as the International Co-operative Alliance, and it liaises directly with Government on behalf of the Movement.