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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ways find a job for themselves as well as for their children. No statistics are available on the number
of these migrants. The parents of these migrant families either start working themselves or
send their children to the gem polishing industry, or both. These migrant children have contributed
to the rise in the number of child labourers in the gem polishing industry in Jaipur. This aspect
has to be investigated more thoroughly.
The second push factor which partly caused the increase in child labour in the gem polishing
industry in Jaipur, is the increase in the wages of child labourers in the industry. In general the parents
see the industry as a way of upward mobility for their children, with higher returns after
some time. The rise in the wage level could have given an extra incentive for parents to send their
children to the gem industry.
Finally, the third push factor is the attitude of Muslim families who have a poor opinion of the
existing primary education system in Jaipur, and prefer, therefore, to send their children to the
workplace. Many of these parents are unemployed or have low-paid manual jobs. The attitude of
these parents combined with the higher wages have contributed to the increase in child labourers
in the industry.
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6.5 Results and discussions of field visits: working conditions of child and
adult labour
During the survey in Jaipur 23 manufacturing units were visited in five different areas. In all the
units children were found at work. The areas are: Chandpole Bazar, Johari Bazar and Ramganj
(all are located in and very near to the centre), and Bassbadan Pura, Char Darwaja and Pahurganj
(all are located in the periphery of the city). Forty-three children in all were interviewed, of whom
eight were girl children. Seven of the girl children were interviewed inside their homes, because
the girls are not permitted to work outside the house according to the Muslim religion. Three out
of the 43 interviewed children are ex-working children and attend the Special School. With them
and 12 boys, who were working full-time, but who got the permission of their employers to be
interviewed outside the manufacturing units, it was possible to have a longer interview. These
longer interviews gave material for the case studies.
Due to the secrecy of the industry it was not possible to gather information on European or Dutch
importers. During field visits in March 1996, nobody wanted to reveal from whom he had bought
the rough stones or to whom the finished stones will be sold or by whom the stones were
manufactured. Everybody in the industry is afraid for competition and thus for the chance of
losing business. One of the biggest gem and jewellery exporters of Jaipur, The Gem Palace, did
not want to tell to which wholesalers in Italy he was exporting the finished gem stones. The
secrecy is believed to be partly related to the system of pricing, which is not uniformly applicable,
and to the expertise of the artisans. The price of a polished stone depends on the stone itself, the
colour, the lustre, the way it is shaped and faceted, the carat weight, but also 'what the buyer
wants to give for it'. Nobody wants therefore to disclose valuable information about the dealing
because this might lead to the undercutting of their profits and business contacts.