Kerala based Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society Limited (ULCCS Ltd), which is the largest primary workers’ cooperative in Asia, is planning to organize a series of events to mark the centenary year celebrations and the committee has been formed of which the state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is the chief patron.
Established on 13th February 1925, will complete 100 years on 13th February 2025. A series of events will be organized from 13th Feb 2024 to 13th Feb 2025 to mark the centenary year celebrations.
Meanwhile, it is said that the ULCCS has invited the President of India Droupadi Murumu for the opening ceremony of the centenary year. In the yearlong celebrations’ events like Cooperative Festival, Cooperative Exhibition, Historical Exhibition, Book Festival etc will be organized.
A 1001-member committee was formed with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the Chief Patron and Public Works and Tourism Minister P. A. Mohammad Riaz as Chairman and ULCCS Chairman Ramesan Paleri as General Convener.
Besides, Former Chief Ministers A. K. Anthony, V. S. Achuth anandan, Speaker A. N. Shamsir, Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan, ministers, ex-ministers, prominent writers M. T. Vasudevan Nair, T. Padmanabhan, M. Mukundan, leaders of all political parties, chief secretary and 56 other people are patrons.
There are also plans to publish about fifteen books related to the Society and its areas of work during this period. It will also include a public oral history of the Society.
The celebrations, which will begin with a grand opening on February 13, 2024, will also prepare the society’s vision for the next 25 years.
The centenary year program was announced at the meeting organized on 15th October 2023 at Madapalli School Ground, Kozhikode, Kerala, in which social audit of constructions, international Co-operation summit and international research seminar on sustainable constructions, new welfare schemes for workers, will be released.
World Co-operative Monitor (WCM), published by the International Cooperatives Alliance, honours ULCCS. It has been ranked at Second position in the list of Industry and Utilities Co-operatives in the sectoral rankings consecutive 3rd year. ULCCS has been named just below Spain based Corporation Mondragon. This ranking is based on the ratio of turnover over gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) is a primary cooperative started in 1925 in a rural hamlet. It began with 14 members and a capital of 6 Annas (old Indian currency) equivalent to about Rs. 0.37.