So far, the Gujarat government has made two interventions. First, the labour commissioner has directed owners to keep their units open. But that’s not of much help to workers, as the owners are running their factories on bare minimum staff with lower wages.
Second, alarmed by the high dropout rate of children of jobless workers, district education offices have asked schools not to force children to pay their fees.

The road ahead
The industry, meanwhile, is struggling to find its way out of the slump. At Sparkle 2008 in Surat, a co-operative model of purchasing rough diamonds on the lines of Amul was discussed. Chandu Cheta, president of the diamond unit owners’ association, said they had opened the units under pressure from the government and there should have been a relief package.

But analysts have painted a grim picture. If 2008 was tough, 2009 is likely to be worse. According to RSM Astute Consulting, the 5th largest audit, tax and consulting company in the US, the GDP growth of most of the developed nations/regions and the major diamond markets in the US and Europe is estimated to be negative in 2009.
Gujarat Bureau, Surat