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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Case studies of child labourers in the gem polishing export industry of Jaipur
The first three cases of twelve cases, concern ex-working children who have now been weaned
from the industry through the intervention of the Special Schools. The twelve interviewed
children lived and worked in three different areas of Jaipur city, namely Ramganj, Pahurganj, and
Char Darwaja. The children who worked full-time (cases 4 to 12) got permission from their
employers for the interview outside the units, and gave them leave for a few hours. All these
children were illiterate and had never attended a school. All the 12 children were Muslims.
Case 1: Irfan
Irfan is 10 years old and started working at the age of 6. At the age of 8 he stopped working
because he got admitted to a 'special school' in Jaipur for ex-working children in the gem
polishing industry. Five years ago they lived in Agra and migrated to Jaipur. Irfan described his
grandfather as a very bad man. The grandfather 'talked bad' to his mother and accused her of
being a thief, as things were stolen from the house. So the family left for Jaipur as they heard that
there was plenty of work.
Here Irfan's father sent him for work in a gem polishing unit in the same area as where this school
is located. The workplace was inside the house of the employer. Everyday Irfan started his work
at 10 a.m. and finished it at 4 p.m. He had a lunch-break of only one hour. Friday is a free day for
Muslims. His job was joining gem stones on a wooden stick called 'kandi' with wax while
holding the stick in a flame. After the stone is fixed on the stick he passed the stick on to the
person who polishes or cuts the stone. He also polished the stones regularly. For the job he received
Rs 10 per week which the employer gave to his parents.
Sometimes his fingers got hurt in the flame or due to the rotating polishing disc, against which he
had to hold his finger with the stone to be polished. And at those times the polishing powder, a
certain chemical called Chromium Dioxide, gets mixed with the wound on his finger. Due to the
pollution in the unit he often had an upset stomach. In the same unit 6 more children were
working. Irfan said that all the facilities of toilet, wash-bin, light, and ventilation were good in the
unit. (One cannot fully rely on that statement as it was observed during visits to units that most of
them were very small, lacked hygiene and were poorly ventilated. The toilets were often very
dirty or absent, in which latter case the streets were used).
When the question was asked how the employer treated him, he looked down. After some time he
started telling that he was not a nice man. One day he had broken a cup and the owner threatened
him that he had to pay for the cup and that he would go to his parents. The employer was
shouting in a very rough way. The employer always ordered him to do things like: 'Clean the
house!' and 'Go to the market!'.
Irfan said that his father and mother had sent him to work. They did not like him playing in the
street and wasting his time by doing nothing. Irfan said that his father was poor and needed his
extra income. Irfan had a big family with two sisters, two brothers, besides his father and mother.