Surat: Diamond Union Threatens Indefinite Strike
March 12, 25
(IDEX Online) - Diamond workers in Surat, India, are threatening indefinite strike action unless their demands for a 30 per cent pay increase are met by employers.
The Diamond Workers Union Gujarat (DWUG), representing many employees in the city, says they've been hit by the worst recession in the industry for 50 years and have seen their wages halved because of short weeks, closures and factories diversifying away from diamonds.
The union has set a deadline of 30 March for a pay increase, together with a package of other measures aimed at helping workers and their families.
Bhavesh Tank, vice-president of the DWUG, (pictured) said many workers had taken their own lives because of financial pressures.
He said G7 sanctions, cheaper lab growns and an overall drop in demand had resulted in many job losses and workers being paid per carat rather than per hour.
Many were being denied many of the benefits enshrined in India's labor laws, such as bonuses, index-linked pay increases and overtime.
"We are demanding that the diamond artisans get at least a 3) per cent hike in wages. In the strike, employees from the city and other parts of the state will also join," he told the Times of India.