Bread and Roses
'You need people who are prepared to commit themselves to each other, to their workforce, in order for this country to prosper. That is a Christian thing to do, if it is done on a basis of equality.' Half our waking lives are spent at work. And for most people work means routine laced with competition - a sort of nerve-wracking drudgery. Given our highly developed and sophisticated economy, could our life at work ever be different?
In the past ten years there's been a huge growth in enterprises formed by people who believe it could. Inspired by the example of Ernest Bader , who gave his business to his workforce and started the modern Common Ownership Movement, they have founded nearly 1,500 workers' co-operatives. By the year 2000, at the current rate of increase, there could be a quarter of a million coops in Britain. But can co-operatives provide jobs that are more than 'just a job'?
And can they still be viable businesses at the same time?