1. (worker co-operative) A type of business organization common in labor-intensive industries, such as agriculture, and often associated with communist countries. Agricultural co-operatives are encouraged in the developing countries, where individual farm ers are too poor to take advantage of expensive machinery and large-scale pro duction. In this case, several farms pool resources to jointly purchase and use agricultural machinery. In recent times the principle has been extended to other industries in which factory employees have arranged a worker buy-out in order to secure threatened employment. The overall management of such co-operatives is usually vested in a committee of the employee-owners.
2. (consumer co operative) A movement launched in 1844 by 28 Rochdale weavers who combined to establish retail outlets where members enjoyed not only the benefits of good-quality products at fair prices but also a share of the profits (a dividend ) based on the number of each member’s purchases.
