More than 10,000 diamond artisans register as ‘jobless’

Surat: Over 10,000 diamond workers have reportedly registered themselves as ‘jobless’ in the past four days in the ongoing campaign of Gujarat Diamond Workers’ Union (GDWU) which seeks to highlight the problem of unemployment in the industry. Diamond workers are registering themselves by sending text messages with their names and of the unit last worked together with addresses on a dedicated WhatsApp number of the union. In the last 24 hours alone, the GDWU claims to have received 2,500 entries from across the state, mainly Surat and Amreli.
GDWU president Ranmal Jilariya told TOI, “Our campaign to highlight diamond workers’ problems is receiving overwhelming response in Gujarat. We have data of 10,000 jobless diamond workers already. More and more workers are registering themselves with the union, which shows that the diamond industry has hit a rough patch in Gujarat.”
Jilariya said the campaign will run until July 15 and that the union expects over one lakh diamond workers to register by then. The detailed data will be compiled and submitted to state government for further action, he added. “We will be taking all the jobless diamond workers to Gandhinagar to seek Gujarat Government’s help. Our demands include alternative job for jobless workers, a relief package for the workers community and relaunch of Ratnadeep Kaushalya Yojana,” Jilariya said.
“Surat Diamond Association (SDA) and Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) are not ready to believe that these many workers have been laid off by unit owners. This is why we were forced to launch a registration campaign for jobless diamond workers,” added Jilariya.
Sources said during global economic downturn in 2009, Gujarat Government under chief ministership of Narendra Modi had launched Ratnadeep Kaushalya Yojana for which it earmarked a fund of Rs12 crore. The scheme had few takers as the industry didn’t have data of jobless diamond workers.
SDA president Babu Gujarati told TOI, “Our workers are happy but certain elements are trying to malign the image of diamond industry. The unions that destroyed mills and factories in Mumbai are now trying to enter Gujarat. We are always with our workers whenever they face any problem.”