Several thousand diamond workers joined a two-day strike in Surat, India this week to demand higher wages.
Members of the Diamond Workers Union of Gujurat (DWUG) are seeking a 30% wage hike for their employees along with a certain social package from the government. The protesters are also demanding strict enforcement of labor laws and an end to the practice of arbitrary salary cuts and layoffs.
The protests have had an impact on the entire industry, causing a slowdown. The situation has become the focus of attention of members of parliament, who have demanded that the central government intervene and provide immediate assistance to the struggling sector.
The global economic downturn, which has also hit the diamond industry, has left around 2.5 million people on the brink of unemployment.
The calls for a new strike, this time an indefinite one, are becoming increasingly loud in the state.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
Produced and published as part of the project "Best practices have a voice"
