"Not for Us, but for ALL"

YCW Co-operative Movement

David Griffiths

Copyright @ David Griffiths

The YCW Co-operative Movement was the most significant co-operative development initiative in Australia since the end of World War 11. This is because the YCW Co-operative Movement was based on:

A chronology of key dates and an organisational chart created by the YCW Co-operative Movement in 1964.

In 1994 Michael Campbell lamented in his thesis for the degree in Master of Education, University of South Australia, South Australia, that: "Despite the significant contribution made by the YCW a search of literature has shown that its methods and practices have not been subjected to any in depth analysis in the English speaking world." http://www.cardijn.net/micbhael.campbell/page5.htm

Even less attention has been made to exploring the establishment and development of the YCW Co-operative Movement.

This is a history in progress. Corrections and additions are welcome. Email the Federation

Catholic Social Teaching

It is the social teaching of the Catholic Church that provides a critical basis for understanding the establishment and development of the Young Christian Workers (YCW) and the YCW Co-operative Movement in Victoria, Australia.

What is common to the social teaching is theological reflection applied to the issues of the day. Major social teaching documents have been in the form of papal encyclicals:

In 1943 a Joint Committee with representatives of the Anglican Social Questions Committee, Catholic Action Secretariat and Christian Social Order Council issued A Christian Plan for Australia Twenty-Point Program Adopted by the Joint Committee. The plan included the need for legislative, financial and technical assistance for all forms of co-operatives.

In Australia the Australian Catholic Bishops have made their own contribution to Catholic social teaching through annual social justice statements between 1940 and 1966. These statements were attempts to apply the principles of Rerum Novarum and Quasragesimo Anno e.g.

"We are still at the beginning, we are always at the beginning, we must persevere," Joseph Cardijn

The YCW Co-operative Movement was developed by the YCW - the international Young Christian Workers movement. The YCW is a movement of and for young people.

The history of the YCW began in 1912 in Laeken, Belgium under the leadership of Father Joseph Cardijn as the Young Trade Unionists with the purpose of enabling young workers to act for themselves. Cardijn believed that young people were capable of and willing to give themselves completely to their work colleagues and the church, that they must come to grips with the materialism of the 20th century and that they could change the face of the earth by bringing Christian influence to bear in the world.

In 1925 the the Young Trade Unionists were renamed the Young Christian Workers and Pope Pius X1 gave the sanction of the church. Cardijn was subsequently made a Cardinal in 1965. He visited Australia in 1958 and 1966.

Today the YCW is active in over 100 countries and has more than three million members.

The Australian YCW was established in Melbourne in 1941. In Australia the YCW has trained thousands of young workers through the See-Judge-Act technique to concern themselves with the total welfare of young people. The Australian YCW still functions.For information on the YCW

Objects, Methods, Principles

The YCW Co-operative Movement was guided by clear objects, methods and principles based on Catholic social teaching.

Click here for a copy of the Objects, Principles and Methods of the Y.C.W. Co-operative Movement extracted from the Development Bulletin, Co-operative Development Society Limited, Vol 1 No 3, January-March 1962, pp 5-8

The YCW Co-operative Movement was influenced by Canada's Antigonish Movement established in the 1930's under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Moses Coady and Rev. Jimmy Tompkins at the University of St. Francis Xavier, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Antigonish Movement was based on adult education about and group action through co-operatives. The Antigonish Movement was guided by six principles:

The Antigonish Movement began in Canada in 1934 and started with credit unions because they were regarded as the simplest type of co-operative. By 1944, 409 credit unions had been established. The Antigonish Movement spread from Antigonish throughout Nova Scotia and the Maritime Provinces of Canada,

 

Throughout the period of its existence the YCW Co-operative Movement promoted co-operation as practical Christianity. The Movement believed that co-operatives contributed to the "introduction of a Christian social order so that all citizens will be assisted to live full Christian lives" through "economic and social co-operation coupled with education both based on Christian principles."

The YCW Co-operative Movement endorsed six principles by which it set out to achieve its objects and judge its methods:

1. The Primacy of the Individual
All co-operatives believe that they can achieve social good only by bettering the social conditions of individual persons, and their object is to help each individual to achieve a better life. They disagree with the ultimate in capitalism which believes in the furtherance of a few individuals at the expense of many, but neither do they support absolute socialism which sees the state as more important than the rights of any single person.

2.Social Reform must come through Education
It is obviously impossible for people to bring about a change in social institutions unless they are first aware of what they are striving for and secondly the method by which they might achieve their object. This knowledge can only come through learning and therefore education of the individual is a vital plank in the co-operative platform.

3. Education must begin with the Economic
All people absorb information more readily if it deals with a subject in which they have a personal interest. There are none with whom we deal who are not in one way or another affected by economic conditions and therefore they can be led more easily to a study of the Church's social theories if they see the application of their education in the economic affairs of their everyday life.

4. Education must be through Group Action
This is in line with the basic belief that people can act more effectively when acting together than as individuals. This applies not only to everyday affairs, but to the type of education through action which is the key-note of the co-operative movement. We believe that people can best learn to take control of their own affairs by experimenting and learning by their experience.

5. Effective social reform involves fundamental changes in Social and Economic Institutions
It is our belief that we must be prepared to more than merely improve existing conditions if we are to bring about social reform. At times it will be necessary to set up and support organisations entirely opposed to existing institutions and if necessary to build a set of conditions where certain institutions can no longer survive. For example, we may deplore the poor service or high prices charged by a monopoly, but it may not be sufficient that we endeavour to have these prices reduced or the quality improved. It may well be that we would set up an organisation to oppose the monopoly and in the long run to force it out of its position as the only supplier.

6. The Ultimate Objective of the Movement is a Full and Abundant Life for Everyone in the Community
If we believe that every man can best carry out his vocation in life if he is freed from the restrictive shackles of poverty and other social evils then we should aim for a situation where these evils are abolished and each person should have the best chance possible to carry out his task in life without impediments and so find it easier to save his soul.

For a 1965 insider view of the YCW Co-operative Movement download and read

Ted Long's Helping Each Other Through Co-operatives.

A Starting Point

A starting point for the YCW Co-operative Movement in Victoria was 1943 when the YCW started a savings scheme for young workers and started working for co-operative housing legislation in Victoria.

This was when the YCW wanted to know if young people were saving for the future. In discussions with groups of young people the YCW learnt that "young workers about to get married found it hard to raise money to buy a home " and, therefore " the YCW in Victoria approached the Government of the day with a plan to form co-operative housing societies..."

The technique adopted by the YCW to establish co-operatives was based on Seeing, Judging and Acting:

The Government agreed and passed legislation for co-operative housing societies.

The first co-operative housing society was formed by the YCW Co-operative Movement in November 1945 and by February 1967 over 50,000 families had obtained homes through co-operative housing - with 2,500 securing homes through 28 YCW housing co-operatives in Melbourne and Ballarat,

 

Trading Society

In 1948 the YCW registered the YCW Co-operative Society - a trading co-operative based at 157 a"Beckett Street, Melbourne.The store sold:

In 1953 the YCW Co-operative Society established a co-operative building group but this ceased operating in 1955. In 1954 an insurance service was established to give people the opportunity to own and build their own insurance business.

By 1960 there were 2300 members. On 26 June 1961 the YCW Co-operative opened a branch at 74 Ryrie Street, Geelong.

In 1965 the YCW Co-operative Society began supplying school uniforms. The decision to supply school uniforms was also based on the core practice of See, Judge and Act:

On 11 July 1966 the YCW Co-operative Society opened a School Uniform Showroom at 347 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

Credit Unions

In 1951 the YCW Co-operative Movement decided to investigate credit union development. This included contact with the Antigonish credit unions in N.S.W. under the leadership of Father Jack Gallagher. Subsequently, in 1952 the YCW Central Credit Union was formed.

Under the YCW Co-operative Movement, credit union development was based on Catholic parishes - giving parishioners a means of effectively running their own savings and credit businesses.

By 1966 there were 144 credit unions in Victoria with approximately 20,000 members and about 75% were parish or community based. Click here for a list of some of the YCW credit unions.

In 1957 the Association of Catholic Co-operative Credit Societies was formed by three credit unions - St. Gabriel's Reservoir, St. Peter's East Bentleigh and the YCW Central Co-operative Credit Society. The Association was formed with the purpose of:

The 9th AGM of the Association of Catholic Co-operative Credit Societies at the Isabel Younger Memorial Hall, Carlton, on 16 September 1966 voted to change its name to the Victorian Credit Co-operatives Association - becoming open to all credit unions in Victoria. There were at the AGM 120 representatives from 63 credit unions.

At the time of the decision there were 140 credit unions in Victoria - 91 affiliated to the Association. The Association's credit co-operatives had an aggregate membership of more than 12,000 people.

For an insider view of the YCW Co-operative Movement and credit unions

download and read John Giddens' Invest in the Future of Your Credit Society.

Co-operative Development Society

The Co-operative Development Society was established in 1961 to "safeguard the proper growth of the YCW Co-operative Movement in accordance with Christian co-operative principles. Between 1960 and 1968 44 issues of the Co-operator newspaper were published and between 1961 and 1964 ten issues of a development bulletin. The objects of the Co-operative Development Society were:

To promote and carry out educational programmes in co-operatives in accordance with Christian social principles;

to prepare and distribute literature relevant to co-operatives;

to acquire and to provide and to maintain lands and buildings for education, recreation or other community purposes, and to promote and assist clubs, societies or other organisations for any such purpose;

to promote and carry out any charitable purpose;

to do all such things calculated to improve the conditions of community life as are prescribed by regulation.

Click here to access some copies of the Co-operator.

 

The YCW Co-operative Movement believed that: "Setting up a large number of co-operatives is not of itself sufficient." YCW co-operatives, therefore contributed five shillings per member per year to fund the Co-operative Development Society Ltd to propagate the co-operative movement and provide education services.

 

The work of the Co-operative Development Society included:

Membership of the Co-operative Development Society was individual.

At the sixth annual meeting of the Co-operative Development Society on 28 July 1966 it was decided to work for the establishment of a Co-operative Union "so that all true co-operatives will be able to co-operate to bring the advantages of economic co-operation to our community."

From Catholic to Secular

In 1964 the YCW Co-operative Movement's Bob Maybury undertook an overseas tour and his subsequent report asked this question: Should our movement remain Catholic centred?

In response, the YCW Co-operative Movement neutralised its Christian vision for the sake of a united co-operative movement. In 1966 the Association of Catholic Credit Societies agreed to reform and rename as the Victorian Credit Co-operative Association. Subsequently, in 1970 the Co-operative Development Society ceased functioning and, instead, supported the establishment of the Co-operative Federation of Victoria Ltd.

This neutralisation of the YCW Co-operative Movement vision was in itself a bold and visionary leap of faith in co-operative values and the broader co-operative movement such as industry-based credit unions. But, the vision of a co-operative philosophy that informed the practice of the YCW Co-operative Movement did not transfer as it could not.

The YCW Co-operative Movement had a unique vision and commitment that could not be transferred because of its uniqueness. The YCW Co-operative Movement, for example, expected members not only to be active in using and running their co-operative but also to be missionaries advocating to others to try co-operatives. The YCW Co-operative Movement also advocated that directors needed to be prepared to make sacrifices of their time and energy and warned about dead wood cluttering up boards.

In 1985 Professor Don MacIness, of the Sociology Department, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada observed: "The focused vision and social critique of the once famed Antigonish Movement has virtually disappeared from public life." (Source: Jim Lotz and Michael R. welton Father Jimmy The Life and Times of Father Jimmy Tompkins, Breton Books, Wreck Cove, Cape Breton Island, 1997, p 157) In Australia the focused vision and social critique of the YCW Co-operative Movement has actually disappeared.

 

Last updated: 24 July, 2004 4:11 PM