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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or teacher empowerment implemented in the above-mentioned ways could be a sustainable alternative
to the Special Schools.
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6.9 Summary of the findings
- The increased international demand for coloured gemstones and gem studded jewellery resulted
in an expansion of the gem industry in Jaipur since the last 5 to 10 years. The expansion had
generated employment to many adult artisans, mainly Muslims, but had also led to the employment
of thousands of Muslim children under 14 years of age. Studies show that the total
number of artisans today is around 200,000 workers and the number of child labourers is around
20,000.
- The pull factor which partly caused a recent increase in the number of child labourers in the gem
polishing industry of Jaipur was the establishment of new manufacturing units (operating since 1
to 6 years) in the periphery and outside the city of Jaipur due to an increased international demand
for gem stones. The push factors which partly caused child labour in the gem polishing industry
in Jaipur, are: the recent migration of families to Jaipur, an increased wage level of child labourers
and the socio-cultural context of parents, and their positive attitude towards work and their
negative attitude towards the existing primary education facilities in Jaipur.
- Full time child labourers, mainly Muslims, started working at the age of 6 to 8 years and girl
children started working later than boy children, because they were needed in the household first.
- The adult workers earned more than the minimum wage but, due to lack of education, the
majority was hardly able to realize upward mobility in a job on a higher level in the gem industry.
The wages of adult workers were dependent on the work experience, type of job and gem stone.
The majority of adult workers earned wages which varied between Rs 1000 and Rs 5000 per
month and the adult workers who had just passed the age of 14 earned wages between Rs 400 and
Rs 600 per month.
- Education seemed to be crucial for earning higher wages at an earlier time in the working
careers of adult workers. Quite a few adult workers had started working at the age of an adult
(above 14 years) with a certain level of education and were able to earn higher wages after a
shorter learning period. Child labourers without any education had to work many years (3 to 6
years) before they earned a wage that an adult worker earned.
- The wages of the child labourers in the gem polishing industry depended on whether the unit
owner liked the child or when he was a relative of the child, but also, on the business success of
the manufacturing unit, the number of workers who were employed in the unit and the experience
and type of job the child did. The majority of the boy child labourers started earning more after 1
or 2 years. The wages child labourers received had increased in the last ten years but were still a
very small percentage of what an adult worker earned for the same job. The majority of the
interviewed children started with a wage that ranged between Rs 40 and Rs 50 per month and got
Rs 100 to Rs 300 per month after 1 to 3 years of working. Children who processed precious