Child-and-adult-labour-in-the-export-oriented-garment-and-gem-polishing-industry-of-India

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Child and adult labour in the gem polishing export industry of Jaipur
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industry in Jaipur than the figure of the Gurupadaswamy Committee.
The children, like the adults, work 8 to 10 hours per day and earn a small part of what adult
workers earn. These children are deprived of meaningful education and play. Gem polishing, and
even more jewellery making, were traditional occupations in Jaipur. Children learnt the craft from
their fathers. 'Children were working with their parents but they combined school with learning
the craft. It required a certain amount of knowledge about the trade and the outside world, for
which education was essential. Since the demand for gem stones was not very high, child labour
was not very widely prevalent' 135 . But since the increased international demand for gem stones
the growth of the industry seems to have also led to a rise in the employment of children under 14
years of age, which are the cheapest labourers.
The wages of adult workers are above the legal Minimum Wage which makes the industry extra
attractive for poor families which see the industry as a way for upward mobility, especially for
their children. Employers or contractors find child labour quite cheap and therefore economically
attractive, and parents let their children work because it pays relatively well and is one way of
supplementing the family income 136 . The lucrativeness of the business, with hopes on high
earnings, has driven many more people into the industry at all levels.
It was always said that the labour force largely consists of workers from traditional artisan
families which hand down the skills from one generation to the next. But the relatively recent
booming of the exports of gem stones from Jaipur has led to the arrival of many people who are
not from artisan families.
A recent survey of the industry in Jaipur revealed that 'though 80% amongst those involved
in gem studded jewellery manufacturing were part of a family business, only 20% had
set up their own business'. The survey revealed further that 'in the case of processing of
precious stones, the percentages reflected exactly the opposite picture: 20% said it was
their family business and 80% had set up a business in gem polishing. In the area of
semi-precious stones, the survey revealed that the break-up was even sharper with only
5% belonging to a family tradition, while 95% of the surveyed people had set up an
enterprise independently' 137 .
The gem polishing industry of Jaipur has a distinct character. It is based on mutual trust.
Everything happens 'face-to-face' and no written records pertaining to the terms of trade, the total
volume of goods transferred or sold, the placement of orders or their mode of payment and
execution, are ever maintained with any government department/agency 138 . Most of the manufacturing
units are not registered and no records are kept of the employees who are working in the
units, which means they are not permanent workers. The industry, due to its informal nature, does
not come under the purview of the majority of labour laws. For example, workers are not entitled
to any benefits of the Factories Act because these units do not fall within the definition of what
135 Neera Burra, 1995, Born to Work, Child Labour in India, op. cit., p. 82.
136 ILO, 1988, Report to the Government of India on a Programme of Action on Child Labour in Jaipur, Mandsaur and Markapur, p. 4.
137 Solitaire International, July-August 1994. Magazine of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, p. 26.
138 Kanchen Mathur, 1991, Child Labour in Gem Polishing Industry of Jaipur, p. 8. Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur.