THE URALUNGAL LABOUR CONTRACT

COOPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD

LTD. (ULCCS
(ULCCS))
A Cooperative Success Story
in Infrastructure Development
Since 1925
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Outlines of the Presentation

ProfileoftheSociety
Cooperative Values and Principles
Cooperative Governance
Business sustainability
Challenges and problems faced by the society and interventions initiated with
reference to goals or objectives .
Keys to success and its emulation elsewhere.
Lessons from the success story.
Benefits to the members and other beneficiaries.
Long term sustainability of the model with reference to social, financial and
environmental
i
l factor.
f
Why the two practices are the best practices ?
Results of intervention and its impact to the ULCCS growth and development.
Cooperative Sociall Responsibility
b l (CSR)
(
)

India, as the second most populated country and

one of the fastest growing economies in the
world,
in
civil
ld is
i highly
hi hl concentrating
t ti
i building
b ildi
i il
infrastructure especially in roads, communication
systems & utilities.

Almost 52% of the total unorganised workers are

employed as construction labourers.
labourers There are
hardly any regulation ensuring issues concerning
sustainability of their livelihood, earnings and
working condition.

In order to ensure development with growth, this

massive work of nation building should percolate
to the grass root levels giving a fair share of this
exercise to the labour available in Indian villages.

Labour Contract Cooperative Societies play

y a vital
role in making these opportunities of growth
available to labour masses.

The Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative

Society (ULCCS Ltd.) an 86 year old construction
society hailing from
f
a rural pocket in Malabar
region in North Kerala had proven its mettle by
establishing a niche of its own in the
infrastructure development in Kerala.

P fil off th
i t
Profile
the S
Society

The
Contract
Society
Th Uralungal
U l
l labour
l b
C t
t Co-operative
C
ti
S i t Ltd.
Ltd (ULCCS Ltd) is
i a
construction society Estd: in 1925 and registered under co-operative societies act.

The society head quartered at Madappally in Vatakara Thaluk in Kozhikode Dist.

Today, the society has to its credit long 85 years of meritorious survival and tops the
list of best working Labour Contract Co-operatives in India.

More than 2000 workers including 750 members and about 1749 non
non-members,
members, are
engaging daily.

It needs no reiteration that this is the best labourers Co-operative Society in the state
executing the contract works from the Public Work Department, National Highways,
Water Authority, Harbour Engineering and District-Block-Grama Panchayats etc.
strictly adhering to time limit and quality requirements and standards of the work.

Today, the society has to its credit long 81 years of meritorious survival and it tops the
li t off best
list
b t working
ki Labour
L b
C t t Co-operatives
Contract
C
ti
i India.
in
I di

Cooperative Governance
ULCCS
has
a
well-defined
organizational
structure
to
execute the decisions of the board
and a consultation wing to
associate in making the policy
decisions.

Management
B
Board
d off Di
Directors
t
President

The Board is elected an interval of

5 years and
d including
i l di
president
id
consist of ten directors
Secretary
All the directors need to have
worked
k d as construction
t
ti
worker
k
and are paid daily wages and not
salaried. All the ten directors work
full time and each director is
responsible
ibl
f
for
certain
t i
no. off
division or worksite.

Finance

Roads

Director

Administration

Bridges

Project Management

Buildings

Cooperative Governance Contd..

The BOD meets every day and collectively take decisions and manages the work
BOD also has a paid secretary who is appointed with the approval of State

Cooperative Department and act as head of office.

Members are expected to attend and actively participate in the monthly general

body meeting
According
g to the norms,, members repeatedly
p
y absenting
g from the monthly
y meetings
g

are panelized by detecting various for Mayday, if paid holiday for the members
otherwise.
BOD exercises strict discipline by punishing defaulty members to work in

quarrying or suspending from work for few days.

Workers are expected to adhere to norms like maintaining peaceful atmosphere at

worksite
BOD has power to suspend the members but it cannot remove the members. Only

general body has right to remove the member

The society
y highly
g y emphasize
p
on establishment of p
professional g
governance starting
g

from policy formulation execution till bill collection.

For various policy decisions it takes consultation well known professional bodies

including Indian Institute of Management, NIIT Kozhikode.

Membership Education and

Participation
The members participate in almost all

key decision making process.

Along with regular board meetings of the

directors/executors there are workmen

workmens
s
meeting, technical review meetings and
Annual General Body Meeting to put forth
every key policy decision for participation
from the members in number of votes.
The

awarding of membership
recognition to a worker in the society.

is

Members attend cooperative education

programme and various training &

exposure programme from time to time.
ULCC manual labours earn higher wages
than lowest g
grade employee
p y of the Govt.
Every members gets a bonus twice a
year, medical allowances, gratuity and
provident fund contribution.

g the eight
g decades of its existence ULCCS Ltd. had
During
developed strong systems within the organisation to complete
the projects in time, cost without compromising quality of
work.
ULCCS Ltd. Is an ISO 9001:2008 Organisation.
It has sophisticated construction equipments to complete the

projects effectively.
Strong SOP;
Strict Quality Control;
Input
I
t Process
P
O t t
Output;
Quality is the hallmark their functioning.

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B i
t i bilit
Business
sustainability
Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is
p
y and social responsibility.
p
y
possible to p
pursue both economic viability
- Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General
The Paid up share capital of the society at present is Rs.3422 Lakhs which includes
Rs 173 Lakhs from individual members and Rs.3249
Rs.173
Rs 3249 Lakhs from the State Government.
Government
The society even after providing all the statutory dues and labourers welfare
expenses is able to hit remarkable growth rate in profits and the total asset base as
shown in the table given below :
Financial Performance of ULCCS Ltd.
(Values in Lakhs)
Year

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

(work carried out)

4326.80

4941.08

5281.29

7260.04

7654.88

11795.82

Gross Profit

663.43

760.26

1176.56

1662.3

2004.54

1544.59

Total Asset

1368.13

1627.57

2420.08

3629.09

12454.72

14004.96

Turnover

Business sustainability Contd..

However,thefocusisnotjustmakingprofitbutalsofulfillingsocialdevelopmentby
providingworkandlivelihoodofthelocalitypeople
Providestableemploymenttoitsworkerratherthantomakeprofit
Engageinrehabilitationandreliefworksduringnaturalcalamities
Schoolingforworkerschildren
Womenempowermentprogrammes intheworksite
Providingshorttermskilldevelopmentprogrammes
Providinghealthawarenessprogrammes
FinancialSupportforpatientsandworkerssufferingfromterminaldiseases
Fi
i lS
tf ti t d
k ff i f
t
i ldi

ConstructionofAdivashi housesofgoodquality
Providingfood,clothandshelteratthetimeofnaturalcalamitylikeflood,
g
y

CoastalErosion
Undertakesmanyprojectsevenwhenprofitistolowifitisbeneficialtothe

member.

C
ti
V l
dP
i i l
Cooperative
Values
and
Principles
The society is manned and managed by the labourers based on strong cooperative
values and principles.
principles
The society is imbibe by all the cooperative values and ethics like
Self-help and Self-responsibility is the hallmark of the society
Democracy Election is held every five years and there is a active participation of
the
member in general body and other committee
Equality no matter how much money a member invests in their share account,
they still have one vote
Equity Society carry business in a way that is fair and unbiased
Solidarity IT share interests and common purposes with all members and other
co-operatives.
Ethical values
Openness , Honesty, Social responsibility and Caring for others
All the members of the Society construction worker and entire system and
processors of the society is based on the principle of thrift and mutual help and
strong disciplinary rules and procedure.

1.

Cooperative Excellence through Decision makers being the Executors

y that the Board of Directors should also involve in the p
j
ULCCS has in its p
policy
project
execution. This is derived from the rule that only workers have the right to be in the
Director Board. This ensures uniqueness in compliance of the decision from the Board at
various execution levels. This system is a derivative of cooperative principles and can
greatly help in taking greater leaps in a chosen endeavor.

2.

Cooperative Efficiency through Collective authority responsibility sharing to the lowest

segment
Each worker,, at his own level is free to take decisions on the site subject
j
to already
y set
principles and procedures of the society. This enables a worker to hone leadership skills
and have authority-responsibility match at his own level.
Both these practices make joint responsibility from bottom to top management which in
turn improves contribution and efficiency by several folds.

K
tto success and
d it
l ti
Keys
its emulation
elsewhere
Trust is the single most factors to the success of intervention.
Collective leadership
Joint decision making
g
Collective Authorty
Mutual Help and Self-Help and Solitary
Concern for Communities

Lessons from the success story

The system is based on cooperative principles of mutual benefit,

togetherness, collective authority and responsibility sharing.

Since the decision makers are from the working class, efficiency

in management increases by several folds.

 Strong financial base of the society

Financial benefits to the members
Growing member based
Fulfillment of social objectives
Quality and Time bound completion of project
Approximately 2000 people comprising labourers, Engineers,

technician and administrative staff having the employment and

livelihood
Members worked daily and paid are weekly wages more than Govt.
wages
IN THE 87 YEARS ULCCS HAS NOT LOST EVEN A SINGLE DAY OF
WORK DUE LABOUR PROBLEM

Completed Projects: 3302

On Going Projects: 300

Major Completed Projects

Calicut Bypass

33 Crores
CRF Road works

15 Crores
NH Realignment

12 Crores
Edasherrykadavu Bridge

8 Crores

ULCCS Future Mega Project

ULCCS plans to venture into setting up of Cyber Park at Kozhikode co venturing with the
Government of Kerala. This upcoming project is aimed at creating job opportunities for the
third generation members who are educated and seek jobs in their related field of
expertise. Through this project, the society also aims at bringing in development in the
district in which it is situated

Proposal to build a world class Special Economic Zone (Project Cost Rs. 600 Crores) at
Kozhikode to provide high quality work space for IT and ITES companies. On completion
this sector specific SEZ will have a total builtup area of 31,00,000 Sq. ft. to house companies
in IT/ITES business.

 The society was founded aiming at social, cultural, financial and cultural
upliftment of its members. The society had been successful in attaining
this
thi objective
bj ti to
t a greatt extent
t t
ULCCS had grown as the biggest Labour Contract Society by providing
direct employment to over 2000 workers from rural areas.
ULCCS is a good example
e ample of how
ho 23 crores construction
constr ction labourers
labo rers can
benefit by organising themselves into cooperatives
ULCCS is a glaring example of workers own, run cooperative society,
has a most favored status for promptness and quality work.
work

Presented by :
Dr. Dinesh, Chief Executive,
National Cooperative Union of India,
India New Delhi (INDIA)
Email : dineshncui@india.coop