Chairperson, the Portfolio Committee of Small Business Development study tour to Spain was an opportunity to learn from the Spanish experience in the development and sustainability of co-operatives. Co- operatives are worker-owned democratically managed enterprises which can produce a variety of products.
Throughout much of Western Europe, as well as in the countries commonly referred to as the Asian Tigers, co- operatives have played an integral role in the development and growth of those economies. The largest co- operative in the world is based in Spain and it's called the Mondragon Corporation. The co-operative is based on both democratic and socialist principles. It is worker-owned, worker-controlled, productive and central to the economy of the Basque region of Spain.
Workers have the democratic say in the decision making of the corporative. They determine what happens to profits and decide where they need to invest in the production process. The co-operative was developed in response to high levels of unemployment and poverty in the region and