Co-operative Societies (Depth 3)

• In 1844, a group of Rochdale weavers started the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, with just 28 weavers paying £1 each by a subscription. The money was used to rent a shop in Toad Lane and to buy in, and then sell, good quality goods to working class families.
• Co-operative (co-op) shops were owned by their members, who were paid a dividend on every purchase they made.
• In just 7 years, there were 130 shops throughout the north of England and by 1880, there were close to 1 million co-op shareholders.
• It was the prospect of regular dividends that made co-op shops popular, and the knowledge the food they bought was not adulterated. The quarterly payment of dividends was most frequently used by working families to pay their rent, while those who could afford it left their dividend with the co-op where they accrued interest. Co-operative societies gave working class families the chance to plan their finances.
• Working class people were to be weaned off the credit readily provided by commercially run shops, and the truck shops run by some employers. Co-op shops, therefore, didn't give credit and everything had to be paid for in cash at the time of purchase. This limited membership to the skilled and semi-skilled members of the working class.
• Co-op dividends were based on the amount of money people spent, so the poorer people were, the less they had to spend meaning the lower their dividend. There is evidence that during downturns in trade and in times of sickness and temporary distress, co-operative societies gave limited credit to their members.