Members' Affairs Committee

It is often said that the members are the lifeblood of any successful co-operative. And it happens to be true. As democratic organisations dedicated to providing a benefit to their members and wider community, it is the members that ultimately hold us accountable to that purpose.

Formally, it is the Annual General Meeting that gives members the opportunity to review the activities of the co-operative and elect our Co-ordinating Body from amongst the members. While this is an important member connection, it is a formal meeting with a very proscribed agenda and doesn’t serve as an open space for the wider membership to contribute their insight, feedback and ideas into the running of our co-operative.

It is for that reason that it is proposed to form a ‘Members’ Affairs Committee’ which would meet on a regular basis to discuss matters of interest to the wider membership, and to make recommendations to the Co-ordinating Body for consideration.

This committee was recommended back in 2019, but due to a series of unfortunate events, has been delayed a number of times, most recently with a first meeting scheduled for what became the second week of the first 2020 lockdown due to the public health crisis.

A MAC steering group has organised an online facilitated session to discuss the forming of the MAC in the context of ‘how do we strengthen our sense of community and solidarity in these challenging times.’ It will be an open and informal discussion which will bring lots of different voices from across the Co-op.

The session will take place on Saturday 24th April @ 11am and is open to all members.