Jairam Ramesh cited a media report, claiming that job losses and factory closures were pushing Surat’s diamond workers to the edge, resulting in 71 suicides in 18 months. File | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Congress flags deaths of diamond workers in Surat, urges government to help them

Workers reeling under large-scale layoffs and pay cuts, says Jairam Ramesh

by · The Hindu

The Congress on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) flagged the issue of suicides by diamond workers in Surat in the last 18 months and urged the government to provide financial assistance to protect them from market volatility.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh cited a media report, claiming that job losses and factory closures were pushing Surat’s diamond workers to the edge, resulting in 71 suicides in 18 months.

“In the last 18 months, at least 71 diamond workers have taken their lives in Surat,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “Surat has a long and storied history as one of the world’s greatest centres for diamond trade. Estimates suggest that there are 25 lakh workers in the diamond industry in Gujarat, with 8-10 lakh workers in Surat alone.”

Mr. Ramesh claimed that the advent of lab-grown diamonds had wreaked havoc on diamond industries across the world. He added that Surat had been hard hit, with large-scale layoffs (up to 15,000 workers between February and June 2024 alone) and pay cuts, which, in turn, had spawned acute financial and psychological distress among the workers in this industry.

No data

The Congress leader also noted that most of these diamond workers were neither permanent nor registered employees and therefore, the government had no data on them or specific schemes for their welfare. “We must do better, we must recognise and register these workers, afford them financial assistance, and protect this industry and its workers from the vagaries of the market,” Mr. Ramesh said.

In a separate post, the Congress leader said the government paved the way for the deliberate destruction of micro, small, and medium enterprises [MSMEs] through “neglectful policy-making, a blundering demonetisation, a botched-up GST rollout, and the unplanned COVID-19 lockdown.

Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling any of the numbers here.

Published - November 05, 2024 09:28 pm IST