The Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) is recognized as the oldest worker cooperative in India.[1] It was founded in 1925 under the guidance of Vagbhadananda in Calicut Kerala. With a membership of around 1415 individuals, ULCCS has successfully completed over four thousand projects. It specializes in construction work for various government departments, including the Public Works Department, National Highway, Irrigation, and Tourism. The ULCCS Charitable Foundation operates a training institute in Kozhikode that caters to the needs of the neurodiverse community.
The Uralungal Cooperative has successfully undertaken significant projects, amounting to over 1000 cores. These include notable initiatives like the Kozhikode Sarovaram Project, city road improvements, the renovation of Kappad Beach, the Kozhikode Arayidathupalam Bridge, the Iringal Craft Village, the Edasseri Kadavu Bridge, and the Government Engineering College in Alappuzha.[2] [3] Additionally, ULCCS has also played a vital role in the six-laning project of NH66, covering the stretch from Talapady to Chengala in Kasaragod District.[4]
The origin dates back to the times when barbarism and superstition reigned. In Uralungal, Kozhikode district, where people used to live without jobs and wages, few villagers reached the temple complex at Puthalath in Mahe to hear the discourse of Vagbhatananda Guru. Impressed by the Guru's talk, who shared the Renaissance ideas, they invited Vagbhadananda to their homeland.[5] In 1917, Palery formed a spiritual school under the leadership of a guru who arrived in the Karakkad region of Uralungal. No one in the country was given a job. The young men approached the Guru with sarcasm. The Guru said that this should not hinder the progress of the proceedings and suggested a simple solution: to start a cooperative group by organizing young people who are willing to work. Thus, on 13 February 1925, the Unemployed Mutual Assistance Group of Mercantile Workers registered a co-operative group called Uralungal Kooli Velakarude Paraspara Sahaya Sahakarana Pagham. This is the story behind the birth of the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS Ltd), which has transformed the face of Kerala by building major over-bridges, highways, and fly-overs.
The name of the village of Uralungal, a village in North Malabar, that no one knows about, was signed by Vagbhatanandan, one of the lamps of the Kerala Renaissance. The work undertaken by the Uralungal Society, in the beginning, was the construction of a fence, a small wall, and a well. The Guru had already strictly stated that the aim was not to make a profit. The ULCCS says that these workers are the beneficiaries of today's upliftment, ensuring quality, free of corruption and discipline. Says Chairman Paleri Remeshan. It was a time when the railway's Overbridge at Chorodu along the national highway, until then the ULCCS had been confined to the Vadakara taluk and adjoining areas, taking only minor road contracts. The contract for the road to the Chorodu overbridge on the Vadakara-Thalassery highway was taken. At the time, the firm did not have the necessary equipment and equipment to perform the big contract work. The undertaking of a six-crore construction project in 1999 was a turning point in the growth of the worker cooperative. ULCCS did not even have its engineer but completed the work in due time and in good standing. All began to know the name of Uralungal. The movement did not have to seek contract work again. A large number of government and private sector construction workers came to Uralungal. To ensure quality and punctuality, the job has become a hiring process. Uralungal was also responsible for acquiring some private companies and completing fifteen years' worth of work that was halfway completed.