Senior high school

COOPERATIVES AND TRADE UNIONS 
A cooperative is a voluntary organization of people who have agreed to pool their 
resources together to undertake an economic enterprise to meet their everyday needs. A 
cooperative is something that they democratically manage, control, and share the economic 
benefits by participation and patronage (Cooperative Development Authority, CDA). 

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Trade unions or labor unions are voluntary associations of either employees, 
employers, or independent workers to protect their interest and become an instrument of 
defense against exploitation and maltreatment. 
The commonalities of these two non-state institutions are the following: 
• organized and formed by a group of people to protect their interest, 
• promotes the common good among members, and 
• voluntary in nature. 
Type of Cooperative 
Description 
Credit cooperative 
Promotes thriftiness among its affiliates, and creates funds to 
grant loans for productive endeavour of members 
Consumer cooperative 
Procures and distributes commodities to members and non-
members 
Producer cooperative 
Undertakes joint agricultural or industrial production 
Marketing cooperative 
Participates in the supply of production inputs to constituents, 
and markets their products 
Service cooperative 
Engages in medical and dental care, hospitalization, 
transportation, insurance, housing, labor, electric lights and 
power, communication, and other services 
 
The Differences between Cooperatives and Trade Unions 
As to the Purpose: 
Cooperatives 
Republic Act 6938: Cooperative Code of the Philippines 
Trade Unions 
To encourage thrift and savings mobilization among members, 
To produce funds and extend credit to constituents for productive 
and provident purposes, 
To encourage systematic production and marketing among 
members, 
To provide goods, services, and some requirements to members, 
To develop expertise and skills among members, 
To acquire lands and provide housing benefits or support to 
members, 
To insure against losses of the members, 
To promote or advance the educational, social, and economic 
status of members, 
To establish, own, or lease cooperative banks, cooperative 
wholesale and retail complexes, insurance, agricultural, or 
industrial processing enterprises, and public markets, and 
To coordinate and facilitate various activities of the union. 
To maintain or 
improve the conditions 
of employment at the 
workplace, such as 
ensuring safety 
standards, right to be 
protected from unfair 
termination of 
employment, right to 
paid leave, and right to 
equality, 
To bargain with the 
employer on behalf of 
the union members 
and negotiate labor 
contracts, and 
To protect the 
economic, political, 
and social interests of 
its members