This joint ILO–ICA policy brief clarifies that cooperatives are neither non-profit nor for-profit institutions, but limited-profit institutions grounded in cooperative identity and values. Proper understanding and accurate legal and statistical classification is critical to their sustainability and contribution to decent work and sustainable development. In line with cooperative principles, surplus may be distributed to members in proportion to their transactions, while profits from non-member transactions must be transferred to indivisible reserves. The brief calls on governments to recognize this unique character in policy and law, guided by ILO Recommendation No. 193 and related instruments.
Read the full statement at the International Labour Organization
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