Gemstones

An interregional tripartite workshop on employment and working conditions in the gemstone cutting and polishing industry was held in Bangkok in November 2001. Participants and resource persons from nine countries discussed a range of issues concerning employment, working conditions, occupational safety and health, training and child labour in the industry. The workshop noted that there were significant differences between the diamond and other gemstone industries, the latter being dominated by a large number of very small enterprises that verged on the informal and were unregulated in some areas.

The workshop adopted a number of recommendations - pdf, 93k, that call for follow-up action by the ILO and at the national level. A CD-ROM containing the presentations and background documents can be obtained from this contact address.