This year, Surat's diamond cutting units have extended the Diwali holidays for their workers to 25 days. Their major markets are grappling with a slowdown, and businesses is down in US and Europe, the Surat units have cut working days by almost 2 weeks.
Diamond shipments have taken a hit as consumers in the US are cutting down on discretionary purchases amid recession worries. So, the exporters have given more off days to workers rather than cut their jobs.
"Diwali holidays have been extended so that the workers do not lose jobs," said Bhavesh Tank, vice-president of the Diamond Workers' Union, Gujarat, adding: "We are not paid during holidays. We get paid against the days we work."
At the diamond cutting units in Surat, Diwali holidays will begin on October 21 and continue till November 15. The workers usually get 15 days.
"The US market is very slow, and the offtake has come down," said Vijaykumar Mangukiya, a diamond exporter and chairman of the Gujarat region of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. “Demand is weak also in China, the second biggest market for India's diamond exporters, while the Russia-Ukraine war has hurt exports to the European region. That is why the units have extended the Diwali holiday this year,"he added.
The 4,000 diamond units in Surat employ around 8,00,000 people.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
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