Associated Worker Cooperatives in Colombia : Public Policies Balance 2002-2007

During the last years, worker cooperatives have greatly increased in Colombia. Many public and private enterprises subcontract with Associated Worker Cooperatives in order to benefit from considerable savings stemming from outsourcing and tax exemptions that cooperatives enjoy. These savings have stimulated the creation of pseudo cooperatives that displaced the solidarity and self-management by the search for lower labour costs and profits of their false quot;ownersquot; and subcontractors, at the expense of their associates rights and welfare. Until now, the Government's attitude has been ambiguous. On the one hand, it has controlled in a lax way and has stimulated the creation of workers' cooperatives, especially in the health sector and in restructured public enterprises. On the other hand, it has tried to reduce the economic incentives in the labour law, but has not been successful. Owing to this ambiguity, there is not a serious regulation that treats in a realistic and technical way the sector problems and that makes the necessary distinction between real and pseudo worker cooperatives