Kerala cooperative secures second position in global sectoral ranking

: World Co-operative Monitor, published by the International Cooperative Alliance, has honoured a primary level labour cooperative in Kerala.

Vadakara-based Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) has been ranked second in the list of Industry and Utilities Cooperatives in the sectoral rankings, for the third consecutive year, a statement said here.

ULCCS has been named just below the Spain-based Corporation Mondragon.

This ranking is based on the ratio of turnover over gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. ULCCS bagged the same position in 2018 and 2019, it said. The Industry and Utilities section includes cooperatives operating in industrial sectors with the exception of the food industry as well as those whose economic activity deals with utilities. It includes worker cooperatives in the construction sector and users' cooperatives in the utilities sector, that is, cooperatives which are active in the management of infrastructure for a public service.

Four cooperatives from India- IFFCO, GCMMF, Kribhco and ULCCS- figure in the sectorial report, the statement added, Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society received membership to the International Cooperative Alliance in 2019.

The World Cooperative Monitor, a project designed to collect robust economic, organizational, and social data about cooperatives worldwide, is the only report of its kind collecting annual quantitative data on the global cooperative movement.

A primary cooperative launched in 1925 in a rural hamlet, Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) began with 14 members and a capital of 6 Annas (old Indian currency) equivalent to about Rs. 0.37.

Considering the meritorious service performance of the Society, the Government of Kerala appointed ULCCS as an Accredited Agency in various departments for execution of projects without tender procedure, the statement added.