Kerala Tech Staff Plan Worker-Owned Health IT Cooperative
Kerala's technology workforce is taking a fresh look at how it can respond to job losses. Former employees of Koro Health in Kochi have proposed a worker-owned healthcare technology company, a plan that has received a positive reception from the state's Cooperation Minister, MM Lijo.
The company's closure left more than 800 professionals without work. The proposed cooperative aims to offer them a new route to employment through shared ownership.
The promoters met the minister in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. They submitted a project report and asked for help in speeding up the registration of the proposed health IT and revenue cycle cooperative society.
The proposal is built around turning a setback into a shared business opportunity. Professionals would apply their skills to health IT services, medical coding, billing and related work.
The group has sought registration as a primary cooperative society. An online meeting attended by professionals from across Kerala followed, offering a platform to debate the venture.
So far, 26 individuals have enrolled as founding members. Initial conversations have started on subcontracting assignments in health IT and revenue cycle management.
Under the model, members would collectively own and operate the enterprise. They would also share the task of securing work and delivering services to clients.
The approach moves away from the traditional employer-employee framework and relies on collective ownership to generate jobs. It also seeks to extend Kerala's cooperative heritage into technology, where skilled professionals can run a business together.
The initiative takes cues from the Indian Coffee House, established by AK Gopalan, the first Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a respected communist leader. After Coffee Board-run coffee houses closed, the workers affected by the shutdown organised themselves and adopted a cooperative model to continue the business.
Kerala's first Indian Coffee House opened in Thalassery in 1958, an early instance of workers collectively taking over an enterprise.
The chief executive of a cooperative consultancy based in Kochi said, “The staff at the coffee house had a counter and a kettle. Today's technology professionals have laptops and special skills. They need the right organisational structure, and Kerala's cooperative tradition gives a way to build it.”
If the model succeeds, it could benefit fresh graduates in smaller towns, women returning to work and skilled professionals across the state. For now, the priorities are completing registration and securing service contracts so members can begin operations.
The promoters believe the initiative could serve as a new template for skilled workers who want to rebuild their careers through collective enterprise.