In Surat, Gujarat, some of the major diamond manufacturing factories, such as Kiran Gems and Diamonds, the largest natural polished diamond manufacturer in the world, have shut their doors for some time. From August 17, these companies will be closed for production for 10 days till August 28. While some companies are going for long vacations, others are shortening the working hours or the number of working days to correct an inventory problem attributed to one reason or another.
Companies such as Kiran Gems, which has a workforce of over 50000 people, most of whom are in Surat, are among those that have closed for now. In an interview, Vallabh Lakhani, Chairman of Kiran Gems, said that the shutdown measure was taken to synchronize it with the existing market supply. He pointed out that the industry is in a recession, considering that diamond prices are down, and there is the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as low exports.
Jagdish Khunt, President of the Surat Diamond Association, mentioned though the association has not given formal instructions for Reduction, there are many companies that have closed or decided to lessen their working. Khunt admitted that the slowdown has very much affected Sme within that industry. At present, a total of 3,500 units of diamond cutting and polishing industries exist in Surat. Many of these units are cutting down their working hours or they are taking more days off in a week due to the crisis.
The immediate advocacy of the diamond worker union Gujarat (DWUG) has most recently written a letter to the Surat district collector regarding providing some sort of monetary compensation for diamond workers who have been fired or suffered greatly financially because of the current recession. The DWUG Vice President, Bhavesh Tank, revealed that rising cases of suicides had been reported among artisans by up to 60 committed suicides in the past 18 months attributed to economic issues. Tank also highlighted the issue of high unemployment rates and mental health effects within the industry, which can be alleviated by the government’s involvement in assisting the workers.
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