ILO Cooperative, Social & Solidarity Economy Unit

19/06/2026

17/06/2026

Governments from across all United Nations regional groups met at the International Labour Organization to launch the Group of Friends on the Social and Solidarity Economy ( ), a voluntary platform for intergovernmental cooperation on the SSE.

The Group of Friends is intended to support exchange, cooperation and follow-up on the SSE in relevant multilateral processes, with a view to promoting decent work, sustainable development and social justice.

The meeting was convened by the Governments of Brazil, Colombia and Spain. It was hosted by the ILO as Chair of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE), and held as a contribution to the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

“The ILO has supported this agenda for more than a century,” said Laura Thompson, Assistant Director-General of the ILO, which has had a dedicated organizational structure on this portfolio since 1920. “The ILO stands ready to support the work of this Group of Friends,” she added.

The ILO, through its Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit (COOP/SSE), chairs the UNTFSSE and supports policy coherence and coordinated action on SSE across the UN system.

The launch comes at the mid-term of the ILO Governing Body’s strategy and action plan on decent work and the social and solidarity economy (2023–29), which gives effect to the 2022 International Labour Conference Resolution and sets out the ILO’s follow-up action, including the promotion of policy coherence in the multilateral system, with the United Nations at its core.

🔗 Read the full press release in

👉 English: https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/governments-launch-group-friends-social-and-solidarity-economy-ilo

👉 Spanish: https://www.ilo.org/es/resource/noticias/los-gobiernos-lanzan-el-grupo-de-amigos-sobre-la-economia-social-y

👉 French: https://www.ilo.org/fr/resource/actualites/les-gouvernements-lancent-le-groupe-des-amis-de-leconomie-sociale-et

🔗Watch the recording of the launch meeting: youtube.com/watch?v=hPxwPd47mZY&feature=youtu.be

16/06/2026

Globally, 75.6 million domestic workers — most of them women and many of them migrants — provide essential direct and indirect care services in and for households.

Despite their critical contribution to families, societies and economies, domestic workers remain among the workers most likely to be undervalued, underprotected and underrepresented. International Labour Organization estimates show that 81 per cent of domestic workers are informally employed, reflecting persistent legal and implementation gaps.

On International Domestic Workers’ Day, we highlight the role of , alongside other social and solidarity economy ( ) entities, in offering practical, people-centred, democratic and participatory pathways to for domestic workers.

By forming and joining cooperatives, domestic workers can move out of isolation and precarious or informal working arrangements, while strengthening their livelihoods, working conditions and collective voice. Cooperatives can support domestic workers by:

➡️ Helping them organize and advocate collectively for their rights

➡️ Strengthening representation with employers, policymakers and service providers

➡️ Supporting access to decent working conditions and fair remuneration

➡️ Creating opportunities for skills development, training and education

➡️ Facilitating access to services, including legal, financial, social, housing and care services

➡️ Providing pathways to better job opportunities, including in home care services

As the demand for care grows, the question is not only how care needs will be met, but under what conditions. Cooperatives and other SSE entities can help ensure that care work is organized in ways that advance dignity, rights, voice and decent work.

📣 This day also marks the 15th anniversary of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) — a landmark international labour standard recognizing domestic work as real work and calling for decent work for domestic workers on an equal footing with other workers.

We must continue advocating for its global ratification and effective implementation.

https://www.ilo.org/topics-and-sectors/domestic-workers/domestic-workers-and-cooperatives

13/06/2026

At the International Labour Organization, as Chair of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy, we express our deepest gratitude to the Ministère de la Microfinance, de l’Economie sociale et solidaire - Sénégal of the Government of Senegal 🇸🇳, for taking the lead on the Group of Friends of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE), alongside Brazil 🇧🇷, to advance this initiative.

12/06/2026

🟥 Today is the World Day against Child Labour.

🚨 Globally, 138 million children are still in child labour.

and other social and solidarity economy ( ) entities are well positioned to tackle the root causes of child labour, including through:

✔️Ensuring child labour-free operations and supply chains

✔️Raising awareness and building capacity among members and communities

✔️Delivering healthcare, education and childcare services

✔️Improving livelihoods and advancing decent work for vulnerable households

✔️Reinforcing collective voice to secure rights and services

The International Labour Organization works closely with governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and other partners to strengthen the role of cooperatives and other SSE entities in helping .

⚒️ The ILO training package on “The role of cooperatives in eliminating child labour” empowers management, staff and members of agricultural cooperatives to take actions that will contribute to the prevention and elimination of child labour. https://www.ilo.org/publications/role-cooperatives-eliminating-child-labour-facilitator-guide-train

🤝In Africa, through the “Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in in Africa” (ACCEL Africa) project, funded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken), the ILO follows a two-prong approach to eliminating child labour through cooperatives. On the one hand it strengthens the governance and management of cooperatives to better serve their members and improve their livelihoods. On the other hand, it provides orientation and awareness raising to cooperative leaders, members, and workers to integrate child labour prevention into their operations. https://www.ilo.org/all-news-for-project?keywords=&field_topics_target_id=5671&field_countries_target_id=All&cf0=RAF%2F22%2F10%2FNLD

📚Explore ILO thematic page on the SSE and child labour to learn more: www.ilo.org/social-and-solidarity-economy-and-child-labour

📷 Join the “Red card to child labour” campaign and add your voice to a global message: child labour has no place in our world. www.ilo.org/red-card-child-labour

11/06/2026

In 2024–25, the International Labour Organization strengthened the integration of cooperatives and the broader social and solidarity economy ( ) across ILO activities. This includes Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs), development cooperation projects and partnerships.

Major achievements include:

▶ The SSE and its entities were integrated into the work of the ILO on the care economy, formalization, supply chains, just transition and crisis response;

▶ 66 development cooperation projects integrated cooperatives and other SSE entities in their activities;

▶ Cooperatives and other SSE entities were reflected in 64 per cent of active Decent Work Country Programmes;

▶ In addition to ILO Constituents, partnerships were strengthened with UN agencies, bilateral, regional and other multilateral partners, international financial institutions, academia and SSE stakeholders.

These achievements marked an expansion from policy recognition to the more systematic and consistent integration of the SSE and its entities into programmes advancing decent work and social justice.

👉 Read more: www.tinyurl.com/CoopSSEresult3

11/06/2026

In 2024–25, the International Labour Organization supported Members on the SSE, in response to growing demand from governments, and employers’ and workers’ organizations.

It worked to strengthen policy frameworks and institutional capacities needed to promote cooperatives and the broader social and solidarity economy ( ) as part of national employment and development strategies.

Key achievements include:

▶ 22 Member States advanced legal, policy and institutional frameworks for the SSE;

▶ Regional frameworks on the SSE advanced, including the ten-year SSE Strategy and implementation plan of the African Union;

▶ 13 Member States integrated ILO training methodologies on cooperatives into national systems and institutions;

▶ 473 certified trainers in place, with ILO training packages on cooperatives used in 38 countries;

▶ 3,100+ participants from 160+ countries participated and certified through the SSE Mass Open Online Course;

The progress helped build more conducive environments, stronger institutional capacities and more effective and better integrated training systems for the SSE.

👉 Read more: https://tinyurl.com/CoopSSEresult2

10/06/2026

In 2024–25, the International Labour Organization strengthened global understanding and policy coherence on the social and solidarity economy ( ) in follow-up to the 2022 International Labour Conference ( ) resolution concerning decent work and the SSE.

Tangible progress was achieved in advancing global recognition of cooperatives and the broader SSE, by strengthening policy, statistical and knowledge foundations among ILO constituents and across policy processes.

Key achievements at a glance include:

▶ The SSE promoted in ILC resolutions on fundamental principles and rights at work (2024), care economy (2024), addressing informality (2025), Second World Summit for Social Development (2025), and related ILO Governing Body follow-up;

▶ Cooperatives and the broader SSE were promoted through dedicated UN General Assembly resolutions and recognized in broader UN, G7 and G20 outcome documents, including the Doha Political Declaration and the Sevilla Commitment;

▶ Two international technical working groups advancing statistical methodology for cooperatives and the SSE towards the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) 2028;

▶ 47 knowledge products and country diagnostics across sectors, topics and regions;

▶ ILO contribution to 130+ global events on cooperatives and the broader SSE, including in the second UN International Year of Cooperatives (2025).

Together, these achievements strengthened the recognition of the SSE and its entities in global policy processes, statistical work and knowledge exchange - as key partners and delivery mechanisms for decent work, sustainable development and social justice.

👉 Read more: https://tinyurl.com/CoopSSEresult1