合作社指導原則一：自願公開的社員制
2021-04-30・合作聯合國
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主婦聯盟消費合作社今年邁入20週年，在這值得紀念的日子，我們想帶大家溫故知新，讓登錄在無形文化遺產的「合作社分享共同利益的理念與實踐」再次讓大家認識。今天我們先來分享「合作社」的定義，之後會陸續摘錄七大原則的重點與大家一同學習。
合作社第一條原則：自願和開放成員資格
合作社是志願組織，向所有能夠使用其服務的人開放並且願意接受會員的責任，不分性別，社會，種族，政治或宗教歧視。
1st Principle: Voluntary and Open Membership
Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
1、第一項原則是結社自由權的表達。這種權利即加入或不加入以追求共同目標，是聯合國《世界人權宣言》，及1966年《聯合國公民權利和政治權利國際公約》的基本權利之一。這條原則主張任何人在決定加入或退出時享有自由選擇的權利。並採取集體行動追求共同的經濟、社會和文化利益。
This first Principle is an expression of the right to freedom of association. This right of free association, namely to join or not to join with others to pursue common goals, is one of the fundamental rights in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the 1966 United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights1 . The 1st Principle asserts the right of any person to exercise free choice in deciding to join or leave a co-operative and take collective action to pursue the common economic, social and cultural interests of its members.
2、許多商業企業通過邀請客戶加入批發市場、商業會員計劃、飛行常客計劃或俱樂部卡計劃，來模仿合作社的會員資格。這證明了會員在競爭市場中的商業價值。但合作社的安排從根本上不同於這些商業安排，這些商業計劃不會授予「會員」所有權，也不會讓會員參與任何業務營銷決策。
Many commercial enterprises imitate membership by inviting customers to join wholesale clubs, commercial loyalty schemes, frequent flyer programmes, or club card schemes. This demonstrates the business value of membership in competitive markets. Membership of a co-operative is fundamentally different to these arrangements, which are no more than marketing tools that do not grant ‘members’ rights of ownership or any involvement in business decision-making.
3、社員責任需要不斷強調，但社員應自由、自願地承擔責任。例如農業合作社可能要求社員訂立獨家使用合同，有義務銷售農作物，向合作社購買產品，並使用合作社的農業機械。這些用戶責任通過產生市場力量，來增強合作社的競爭力。
Membership responsibilities require constant emphasis, but they should be borne by members freely and willingly. For example, an agricultural co-operative may require that members enter into exclusive use contracts in which members are obliged to market crops, to buy inputs from the co-operative and to use its farming machinery. These user responsibilities strengthen competitiveness of co-operatives by generating market power.
4、基於年齡而產生任何形式的歧視，也需要受到挑戰。通過培訓機會來鼓勵年輕會員加入以實現民主，而非只有年長成員才能參與活動。合作社社員資格需要不斷更新。每一個合作社企業都需要新的、年輕的成員，才能保持永續發展。合作社應該體認到，不能只讓年齡較大的成員來管理，這將扼殺年輕一代成員的參與。合作社有了下一代成員才會變得強大。
Any form of discrimination based on age also needs to be challenged. Democratic renewal through training opportunities to encourage younger members to stand for election is preferable to arbitrary age barriers designed to exclude older members from active participation. Co-operative membership is in need of constant renewal. Every co-operative business needs new, younger members in order to be sustainable. The danger of control by older members, effectively stifling the engagement of a younger generation, should be recognised. A co-operative is only as strong as its next generation of members.
5、社會階層或種姓與個人成為社員的權利無關。合作社對富人和窮人開放，其他社會差異或個人特性，不應該用來限制開放成員資格的原則。種族原因也不能用來歧視那些希望成為社員的人。種族特徵是膚淺的，並不構成種族歧視的理由。文化差異更顯著，但這些差異應該是做為人類多樣性像光輝的彩虹來慶祝，而不是用來限制社員資格的。
Social class or caste has no bearing on the right of individuals to be members.Co-operatives are open to rich and poor alike. Other social distinctions or personal characteristics should not be used to restrict the principle of open membership. Race Guidance Notes to the Co-operative Principles is also not a characteristic that can be used to discriminate against those who wish to become members. Racial characteristics are superficial and do not constitute grounds for discrimination. Cultural differences are more significant, but these differences should be celebrated as the glorious rainbow of human diversity and not used to limit membership.
延伸閱讀
溫故知新合作社 https://www.hucc-coop.tw/article/coop/22169
NPO法人與合作社有何不同？https://www.hucc-coop.tw/article/coop/5367
成熟的市場經濟，社會為什麼需要消費合作社？https://www.hucc-coop.tw/article/coop/12989
