Edwin Vassallo commends co-operatives

Unity under a co-operative could be an alternative business model to face stiff competition, according to Edwin Vassallo, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and Self-Employed.

"We need to drive home the message that by joining forces as a co-operative, businesses will be strengthening their position - co-operatives can be the medicine for ailing business," he said.

Mr Vassallo was yesterday speaking at a national conference at the Dolmen Hotel in Qawra, intended to generate better consultation between co-operatives.

In Malta there are 59 co-operatives that together have 4,652 members; the majority are micro-enterprises that generate Lm25 million in business. Collaboration between co-operatives guaranteed independence, while offering a framework for commercial collaboration, he said.

When compared with other companies, co-operatives had greater flexibility in decision-making, less regulatory bureaucracy, less cost and income tax exemptions.

Co-operatives should learn how to reap the benefits of the law regulating co-operatives, which was amended in 2001, Mr Vassallo said.