Abstract
This report on the study of the New South Wales Worker Co-operative Programme has been written in two parts. Following the introductory chapter which gives a summary of the whole report, the New South Wales Worker Co-operative Programme is examined in Part One, Chapters 2 to 5. Chapter 2 gives a history of the Programme from the initiatives for its introduction in 1978 to its implementation to February, 1981. Chapter 3 describes the development of the Programme during the period this study had taken place, that is, from February to June, 1981. The analysis of the Programme forms the content of Chapter 4. The analysis refers to the whole duration of the Programme to date and also to the activities that were in progress at the time the report was written. Chapter 5 contains a brief examination of the current and likely future trends in the Australian labour market, followed by observations on the place of small business enterprises in Australia and on worker co-operatives as one form of small business enterprise. Consideration is then given to possible options for the future of the New South Wales Worker Co-operative Programme. In Part Two, Chapter 6 outlines the history of co-operative thought and gives an overview of the past and current developments of worker cooperatives in Europe and Australia; and Chapter 7 is a summary of current overseas and Australian programmes related to unemployment and job creation.