The world of work is undergoing enormous transformations: the quality and organisation of work, the crisis of social and economic systems and the so-called 4th industrial revolution are all turning the world upside down. As enterprises which are democratically owned and managed by their workers, producers and, in some cases, also their users, cooperatives in industry and services would like to mark International Workers' Day by reiterating once again that they can be one of the tools that will make it possible to safeguard sustainable employment by applying an equal distribution of work and wealth. Cooperatives should be recognised, especially considering the level of work they generate in representing 9% of the world's employed population, according to the soon to be released CICOPA study, ‘Cooperatives and Employment: Second Global Report'.