Srijan Foundation

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-new-story-from-militant-labours-own-country-it-park-owned-by-workers/556731/0

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School drop-outs who once crushed stones at granite quarries have now become the directors of a Rs 600-crore info-tech park in Kerala.

Apart from the directors, 943 manual workers are also part-owners of the Uralungal Labour Contract Cyber Park, a 100-per cent subsidiary of the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS).

The park, spread over 25 acres in Kozhikode, got Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status early this month.

A major construction co-operative venture in north Kerala, ULCCS has executed several showpiece road and bridge projects. Headquartered in Madappally, a village in Kozhikode district, ULCCS was established in 1925 with 14 members to fight poverty and caste oppression, to generate employment for the poor and the backward.

Over the years, the number of permanent members grew to 950-odd, around 10 per cent of them disabled. All members of the society are daily-wagers from Madappally and surrounding areas.
ULCCS has its own system of enrolling a worker-cum-member. On approaching the society for job, a labourer is first asked to crush stones at the quarries it owns. If the aspirant’s performance is satisfactory, he would be taken in as a member after a year. From the quarry, he would move on to road projects. If his performance is good, he gets promoted—as site supervisor and later as project manager.

M M Surendran, 44, a director of the cyberpark and a Class IX drop-out, joined the ULCCS as a stone-crusher 30 years ago. “After one year at the quarry, I became a permanent member and became a road worker. Later, I became a site leader,” said Surendran, who has been a director of the cooperative for nine years. He said seven other directors of the park have only school education. All members of the society, including the directors, draw daily wages. The directors get 15 per cent more than member workers. Workers retire at 60 with various benefits, said Surendran.

Paleri Rameshan, an ITI certificate holder who joined the society as a site supervisor, is now the president of the ULCCS and the Chairman and Managing Director of the proposed IT Park. “In the future, the society might have to diversify to meet the changing aspirations of the generations to come. For last three years, we have been facing shortage of fresh hands as Kerala youths are least interested in manual work. Hence we logged in to the IT venture as an investment for the next generation,” said Rameshan.

Rameshan said the society used to purchase land adjacent to major project sites to house its mixing plant and other equipment. “Thus, we had bought nearly 15 acres on the outskirts of Kozhikode city as part of the NH bypass work there. After completing the work, the plant site was lying idle. As the society wanted to do something meaningful for the next generation, we thought about an IT park and bought 10 more acres of private land,” said Rameshan. He said the Kerala government had wholeheartedly supported the venture, which would be the first IT park in north Kerala. The profits from the IT venture would also get divided among the members.

To run the proposed IT Park, the labourers’ society has roped in K G Girish Babu, founder CEO of state-owned Info Park in Kochi. “The society is known for its quality work and track record for finishing work on time. Society members have not wasted a single day in its history on labour problems. It is not their educational background, but the directors’ vision that attracted me,” said Girish Babu, who joined the project as its CEO.

The IT Park, expected to give employment for 15,000, would be implemented in three phases. A part of the funds for the project would come from the society’s resources, while the rest would be raised from banks. The project has already advertised for an architect for its green building.

The ULCCS has assets worth Rs 125 crore. Last year, the society executed projects worth Rs 75 crore. The paid-up capital is Rs 4.18 crore, 40 per cent of which comes from the workers and the rest from the government in the form of loans. Ten per cent of the daily wage of a worker is kept apart and converted into a share at the end of the year. Members increase their stake till they retire.

CPI(M) leader and Kozhikode MLA A Pradeepkumar said, “The project would prove that ordinary people can do great things in life.  The social ownership of an IT park may be the first in the country. We would see the park-owners constructing it brick by brick.”