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

Child and adult labour in the gem polishing export industry of Jaipur
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flourishing business has increased the number of dalals. For his contribution to the correct
functioning of the whole industry the dalal is very much appreciated by everyone concerned. The
dalals simplify the business and smoothly circulate the rough stones and the processed stones
from manufacturers to buyers.
During visits to manufacturing units in Jaipur, the researcher of this report came across an exporter/manufacturer
who was dealing with 60 dalals in all. This shows the importance of the dalals'
role for the trade in and manufacturing of coloured gem stones. The absence of a dalal
considerably affects the success of the business for everyone involved.
Artisans
Artisans 143 or manufacturers are either master craftsmen, ustad 144 contractors or workers. The
craftsman usually does not employ children younger than 14 years, as his work often requires
highly skilled craftsmanship which cannot be expected of a child. The ustad-contractor starts his
own manufacturing unit after having learnt the skills from a master craftsman after many years.
He mainly employs children younger than 14 years of age because they are a cheap source of
labour recruited under the guise of apprenticeship 145 . The ustad-contractor, who started as an employee
himself, was able to save some money after years of polishing the stones and could buy a
machine of his own. Most of these ustad-contractors are dependent on dalals and traders for their
raw materials, and for selling their finished goods. But some of them also purchase the raw
materials themselves and some sell the finished gem stones themselves in the market place. The
ustad-contractor also works himself. The third level of the manufacturers are the workers; they
are the lowest rank. They work either for master craftsmen, ustad-contractors, exporters, traders
or are self-employed. More than 80 per cent of all the workers fall under this category 146 .
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6.3 Processes 147 : from rough to finished gem stone
The gem polishing industry is dependent on the supply of raw gem stones. Rough stones are
imported duty-free from Brazil (mainly emeralds), African countries, Australia (sapphire and
ruby), Thailand (rubies), Germany and a small amount from India itself (mainly from Orissa 148
and Madhya Pradesh like onyx and garnet). The main problem of the industry is the procuring of
143 Neera Burra, 1995, Born to Work. Child Labour in India, p. 84.
144 Ustad means master (in the skills).
145 Neera Burra, 1995, Born to Work, Child Labour in India, p. 84.
146 Neera Burra, 1995, Born to Work, Child Labour in India, p. 84.
147 Kanchen Mathur, 1991, ibid., pp. 13-16. Steps are verified by personal survey.
148 During field visits in 1996 in Jaipur a trader was interviewed who got raw stones from Orissa by going there himself. He said that the
workers in Orissa were poorly paid for the rough stones they found there. The trader paid the worker Rs 2-3 per carat weight of the gem stone
and he sold the stone for Rs 50 per carat in the market. 'These workers are very lucky if they can earn Rs 50 per day'. An article on a gem stone
mine in Koraput District in Orissa, stated that women, men and children dug the gem stones during the whole day under dangerous working
conditions and they were exploited by the middlemen. The middlemen made enormous profits because the workers, who were tribals from the
area, neither knew the market price of these stones, nor did they have the bargaining power. The article also stated that a 50-carat stone would
give the worker Rs 15-20, but the middlemen would sell the stone for Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 in the outside market. In: Aside, November 15,
1995.