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This is an archive article published on June 3, 2023
Hit by layoff wave, over 50 polishers approach Diamond Worker Union for relief
The crisis peaked Friday when they were told to look for another job. Sixty-year-old Ashok Patil is one of those who have been hit by the layoff wave at the unit.
3 min read
The financial challenges faced by the diamond industry have pushed factory owners to extend summer holidays or cut short working hours. Some of them are keeping two days off a week to survive the critical situation. Experts describe the measures as a bid to control production costs. (express photo)
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Hit by layoff wave, over 50 polishers approach Diamond Worker Union for relief
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Shrouded by a cloud of sluggish business, diamond factories in Surat are grappling with the double blow of the Covid aftermath and the Russia-Ukraine war. On Friday, after over 50 diamond polishers were laid off by a manufacturing unit, they knocked on the doors of the Diamond Worker Union Gujarat with the hope of getting some relief.
A total of 54 diamond polishers of the Karp Impex diamond manufacturing unit at the city’s Lal Darwaja area were shown the door by the management on Friday. The affected workers said they were shocked by the sudden move. Among those laid off, five diamond polishers, Ashok Patil, Ketan Gadhiya, Hitesh Hastekar, Digamber Patil, Rajman Kutar, and Ashok Prajapati, wrote to the Union on behalf of others.
On receiving the complaint, Diamond Worker Union president Ramesh Ziliriya told The Indian Express, “We made a call to the HR department of the company and found it is facing a shortage of rough diamonds among other issues. We told them a notice period should be given and they did not follow the standard practice. We also urged them for severance pay. To this, they said they will respond after talking to the owners. We will hold a meeting with the management soon to resolve this issue.”
The financial challenges faced by the diamond industry have pushed factory owners to extend summer holidays or cut short working hours. Some of them are keeping two days off a week to survive the critical situation. Experts describe the measures as a bid to control production costs.
At Karp Impex, the affected workers said they were associated with the unit for a long time. For the last few days, they further underlined, they were given fewer than usual diamonds to cut and polish. The crisis peaked Friday when they were told to look for another job. Sixty-year-old Ashok Patil is one of those who have been hit by the layoff wave at the unit. He is a native of Jalgaun district in Maharashtra but he settled in Surat in 1978. “I joined Karp Impex on September 18, 2003. Every year the company offers a 10 per cent bonus. My last drawn monthly pay was Rs 20,000,” he shared.
He further added, “The management claims the company is not doing well. We demanded three months’ salary. But they denied it and told us they will pay a basic salary of one month. But we all refused to take a month’s pay.” Over two years ago, Patil recalled, when more than 200 diamond polishers were laid off by the manufacturing unit, they were paid the salary for three months as severance pay. Calls and text messages to company officials did not elicit any response.
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