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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period of 2 to 5 years. These units often employed a small number of workers (around 3 to 6
workers) and were often located in the periphery of the city. After 2 years of apprenticeship they
started earning Rs 100 to Rs 200 per month. It was also found that many children did not get paid.
The owners of those units said those children would get paid an amount between Rs 500 and Rs
1,000 per month after 3 to 5 years of experience. This occurred in workshops where the gem stones
were of a higher quality and where the adult workers were highly skilled and could make higher
quality stones or carved jewellery.
In some visited manufacturing units, more than 10 workers completed large orders of rough gem
stones. These units often made high profits. The children who worked in these units appeared to
get immediately wages right from the moment they started working, whatever was the type of the
job. These children got wages of around Rs 100 to Rs 200 per month which was regarded by the
owner as 'pocket money'. After 2 years they already earned Rs 1,000 per month.
Wages of children 5-9 years ago
In 1987 and 1991 two surveys were conducted on the problem of child labour in the gem
polishing industry. In 1987 it was observed that the children who were working full-time earned
nothing the first year and a half, after two years they started to earn around Rs 50 per month, after
3 to 4 years around Rs 100 per month, and when the child reached the age of fourteen he or she
could earn a wage of Rs 100 to Rs 200 per month. The survey conducted in 1992 revealed that no
money was paid to the child at the initial stage of his working career except for some money on
festivals days. Only after 1 or 2 years of apprenticeship the child started earning nominal wages of
Rs 2 to Rs 5 per day (i.e. around Rs 50 to Rs 130 per month of 26 working days). Once the child
had 5 or 6 years experience he earned almost as much as an adult, which was between Rs 25 and
Rs 45 per day (i.e. Rs 650 and Rs 1170 per month of 26 working days).
During field visits it was found that the majority of the interviewed children started with a wage
of Rs 40 to Rs 50 per month and got Rs 100 to Rs 300 per month after 1 to 3 years of working 159 .
It seems that the wages had increased during the last 5 to 9 years. Though more thorough research
has to be done on this point, the results indicate that the children start earning wages sooner and
these wages are higher than 5 to 9 years back. This would be an extra incentive for parents,
whether working in the gem polishing industry themselves or not, for sending their children to the
industry.
Employment of children and working hours
In the visited units where predominantly semi-precious stones were processed, the children did
the unskilled jobs, such as sweeping, joining and final polishing. But, where precious stones were
processed, children also did jobs like cutting, rough shaping and faceting. Children who just
started working did jobs like arranging the wooden sticks on which the stone had to be fixed,
final polishing or they simply watched the processes done by adult workers for a few hours per
day.
The interviewed children worked full-time, and working hours varied between 8 and 10 hours per
159 When the children process precious stones like emeralds or rubies they earn higher wages than those mentioned here. These are only
for boys, as girls are not employed outside the house in units. For girls see the paragaph on girl children.