Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 29 — Kerala's Cooperation Minister M.M. Liju on Thursday responded positively to a proposal by former employees of Kochi-based Coro Health to launch a worker-owned healthcare technology enterprise under the cooperative model, offering a new avenue for more than 800 professionals who reportedly lost their jobs following the company's closure.
The promoters met the Minister in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday and submitted a project report seeking support to expedite the registration of the proposed Health Care IT and Revenue Cycle Co-operative Society.
The initiative seeks to turn job losses into an opportunity for collective enterprise, with professionals pooling their skills to undertake healthcare IT, medical coding, billing and related services.
The society has applied for registration as a primary cooperative society.
Professionals from across Kerala subsequently joined an online meeting to discuss the venture.
Twenty-six have signed up as founding members, while preliminary discussions have begun on securing subcontracting assignments in healthcare IT and revenue cycle management.
Under the proposed model, the professionals would collectively own and operate the enterprise, share responsibility for securing assignments and deliver services to clients.
The objective is to create employment through collective ownership rather than depend solely on conventional employer-employee arrangements.
The initiative seeks to extend Kerala's established cooperative tradition into the technology sector, where skilled professionals could jointly undertake commercial assignments.
The promoters draw inspiration from the Indian Coffee House founded by legendary Communist A.K.Gopalan, the first leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, whose cooperative model emerged after workers affected by the closure of Coffee Board-run coffee houses organised themselves to continue the business.
Kerala's first Indian Coffee House outlet opened in Thalassery in 1958, offering an example of workers taking collective ownership of an enterprise.
“The coffee house workers had a counter and a kettle. Today's technology professionals have laptops and specialised skills. What they need is the right organisational structure, and Kerala's cooperative tradition offers a way to build one,” a Kochi-based cooperative consultancy CEO said.
If successful, the model could eventually create opportunities for fresh graduates, women returning to work and skilled professionals in smaller towns.
The immediate priorities are securing registration and obtaining service contracts to enable the members to begin operations.
The promoters believe the initiative could offer a new model for skilled workers seeking to rebuild their livelihoods through collective enterprise.