The ILO Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Unit (COOP/SSE), presented a session on care provision through cooperatives under the track "Innovative Care Models: Cooperatives and Women's Entrepreneurship in the Care Economy" during the South4Care: Strengthening South-South Cooperation for the Care Economy event, held from 15 to 18 September 2025 in Doha, Qatar. The meeting brought together global leaders, social partners, and UN agencies marking the launch of the ILO South-4-Care Platform and the first edition of the Learning Hub on the care economy in the Arab States.
The session, delivered by Mr Rayann Koudaih, Specialist on Cooperatives and Social and Solidarity Economy Development, built on the recently adopted ILO Resolution on Decent Work and the Care Economy (2024) and the ILO Resolution on Decent Work and the Social and Solidarity Economy (2022). Mr Koudaih presented provision of care services through cooperatives as a way to improve access to quality care, enhance working conditions, and promote gender equality through democratic governance and community-driven solutions. He emphasized how the cooperative model is a way to provide affordable and quality services, and new job opportunities with improved wages and benefits. Cooperatives in care services can be adapted to diverse contexts, including in times of economic austerity and demographic change. He provided highlights from pilot initiatives underway in Colombia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and other countries.
The session also featured more in-depth reflections on a pilot initiative from the State of Palestine. Mr Mohanad Shalabi from the ILO Office in Jerusalem and Ms Mona Salem from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) presented a pilot initiative to establish a childcare cooperative in Nablus in the West Bank. Developed in coordination with the Ministries of Labour, Social Development, and Health of the Palestinian Authority, the cooperative is in the process of securing licensing and rehabilitating a care facility. It has been designed to deliver affordable childcare services to working families with low income and create formal employment opportunities for women care workers. This initiative demonstrates the role trade unions can play in advancing worker-centred solutions for expanding care access and promoting decent work in crisis-affected settings. By actively engaging in the design and management of care provision, trade unions ensure that workers' needs and rights are central to service delivery models, while also fostering social protection and inclusion. In the ensuing discussion, questions were received including around the role that employers' organizations play in multistakeholder cooperatives that are involved in provision of care services.
