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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money per month. As far as the wage of artisans is concerned, there existed no uniformity in its
structure. The gem polishing unit owners or ustad-contractors got paid by the middlemen or
brokers in carat weight of the stones. The broker gets 4-12% commission depending on the type
of stones he buys and sells in the market. A broker can earn a wage which can vary between Rs
5,000 and Rs 7,000 per month. Middlemen who can sell the gem stones to jewellery shops or
exporters are often highly educated, with at least primary education. There are brokers who deal
at all quality levels of gem stones, with or without having a steady client circle, dealing in small
or large quantities.
A broker who dealt in semi-precious gem stones only, said that 'for the Indian traders, exporters
and brokers the business in semi-precious stones is better than in precious stones. In the precious
stone business there are a lot of delays in payments from foreign buyers'. 'The clearance at the airport
is very slow', according to the broker. 'This is not the case in the semi-precious business and
the buyers seem to pay in time to the traders and the manufacturers. Higher prices are paid in the
semi-precious gem stone business'.
The amount of money the unit owner can earn depends on how many stones the whole unit produces
in a month or week and that depends on the accuracy and the experience of the workers.
Also, the price of the stones depends on the type of stone (precious or semi-precious), the size,
colour and clarity. The unit owner, who also works in the unit, shares the total income of the unit
among the workers. The unit owner earns of course more than his employees. The workers are
getting paid according to their experience and the type of job. On average, the wage of an adult
worker in the age range between 18 and 38, varied between Rs 1,000 and 5,000 per month or Rs
40 to Rs 210 per day. The majority of the interviewed workers started as child labourers themselves
and had been doing the same job of shaping, faceting or polishing of the gem stones for the
last 10 to 30 years. Adult workers who had just passed the age of 14 years often earned wages that
ranged between Rs 400 and Rs 600 per month.
There are hardly any adults who are unskilled workers, because most of them started as child
labourers themselves and are skilled in the work and doing skilled jobs like shaping, cutting, shaping,
carving, faceting, polishing etc. Adult workers perform skilled jobs, which include almost
all the processes except joining, final polishing, and jobs like arranging the wooden sticks or
sweeping the unit. During visits to manufacturing units, it was observed with only one adult who
was doing the process of 'joining', and he earned Rs 40 per day. A child who is doing this job is
either not paid for this job or earns at a most Rs 40 to Rs 50 per month.
The adults who do work like carving of gem stones earn much higher wages. They can ask higher
prices for carved ornaments and jewellery as these are bigger stones but also because more skills
are needed to manufacture the sculptures.
Workers who process precious stones earn more than workers who process semi-precious stones.
This was found for adults as well as for child labourers who work in the gem polishing industry
of Jaipur.
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The turnover is around US$ 1 million per month. To invest his money he keeps two old-timers from 1931 and a jeep from the second World
War, which were standing behind the shop. Inside the building he was constructing a palace with real gold and silver wall paintings.