Surat Diamond Unit Shuts as Workers Seek ₹14.5 Lakh in Unpaid Wages

A diamond-cutting and polishing unit in Surat’s Varachha area has shut, leaving workers seeking about ₹14.50 lakh in pending wages, according to the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat and a report by The Indian Express published on October 24. The unit, Marutinandan Diamonds, processed natural and lab-grown stones and had employed around 55 workers during roughly two years of operation. The union says its owner, Kiritbhai Vagadiya, has not been reachable after promising to clear the remaining salary arrears. Police said they were trying to contact him and would record workers’ statements before deciding what offence report to register. The allegations have not yet been established in court, but the shutdown has left employees facing immediate financial uncertainty.

What workers say happened
The Diamond Workers Union Gujarat said Marutinandan Diamonds shut its operations while wages remained unpaid. According to the union, the owner paid ₹4.50 lakh toward the outstanding amount earlier in October and promised to clear the remainder by October 19. The union said he then failed to appear at its office, his mobile phone was switched off and he could not be located at his residence. Those are the union’s account of the events and should be treated as allegations pending investigation.

The reported balance owed to workers is approximately ₹14.50 lakh. More than 20 workers have approached the union, while the report said salaries for two months were reportedly still due to additional employees. The figures may change as the union checks individual claims and documents. A full accounting will need to distinguish the total arrears, payments already made, the number of affected employees and any wages that remain disputed by the employer.

The police complaint and what it means
The union approached Ashwani Kumar police station on Thursday, seeking registration of a cheating case against Vagadiya. Police said they were attempting to contact the owner and would record the workers’ statements before filing an offence report. That means the matter was at an early complaint stage in the reporting available for this package. A request to register a case is not the same as a formal finding that cheating occurred, and the owner’s response had not been obtained in the report.

Investigators can examine employment records, wage registers, bank transfers, attendance details, messages about payment deadlines and statements from the owner and workers. Those materials may help establish what wages were due, whether payments were promised, what was paid and whether there is evidence of deliberate deception. A police inquiry can determine which provisions may apply, while any criminal liability must be established through the legal process. Workers should be able to provide documentation without having to rely solely on verbal accounts.

Who is affected by the closure
The workshop was reported to have processed both natural and lab-grown diamonds and to have employed about 55 people. Diamond cutting and polishing depends heavily on skilled labour, and a sudden shutdown can leave workers without both wages already earned and a predictable next shift. Some employees may have limited savings because household expenses are planned around regular salary payments. A disruption at a small unit can therefore affect families quickly, particularly when arrears cover more than one pay period.

One worker, Monaben Mali, told the newspaper that she was owed ₹60,000 for August and September. Her case illustrates the difference between a total company-level claim and the individual amounts employees need to recover. Each worker will need to establish the period worked, the agreed wage and any payments already received. If the unit remains closed, workers may also have to search for new work while pursuing unpaid earnings from the previous employer.

Why the timing is particularly difficult
The dispute comes as Diwali approaches, a period when families may face extra spending on food, travel, household purchases and celebrations. Unpaid wages can put those plans under pressure and make it harder to meet ordinary costs such as rent, school fees and medical bills. The problem is especially acute when several weeks of earnings are withheld at once. The union’s role is partly to consolidate individual complaints so that workers can pursue a shared claim rather than approaching authorities in isolation.

The timing does not change the legal standard for a wage claim, but it does make a prompt response more important for the affected families. Clear information about the status of a complaint, the documents required and the expected next steps can help employees decide what to do next. Workers should retain available records of attendance, pay slips, bank transfers and messages about arrears, because those records can support both a labour claim and any later police inquiry.

A wider challenge in diamond manufacturing
Surat is a major centre for cutting and polishing diamonds, with work spread across many units and specialised stages of production. A shutdown at an individual workshop does not by itself show that the whole sector is in crisis, but it highlights the vulnerability of workers whose earnings depend on the financial stability of a particular employer. Smaller units may operate with narrow margins and few buffers, while workers have little control over decisions about cash flow or closure.

The labour issue is distinct from the quality or origin of the stones being processed. Whether a unit handles natural or lab-grown diamonds, wages for work already completed remain a separate obligation. Employers need clear payroll records and a plan for communicating if operations stop. Workers, meanwhile, need accessible systems for reporting arrears and receiving information about the process to recover their earnings. Trade associations can also help by clarifying standards and encouraging members to resolve wage disputes before they escalate.

What the shutdown means beyond one workshop
The episode places attention on a basic question in labour markets: what protection do workers have when a small employer suddenly closes and becomes hard to contact? A functioning complaint process must be practical enough for workers to use quickly and credible enough to distinguish genuine arrears from disputed claims. Where many people are affected, a union can help consolidate records and make it easier for authorities to see the scale of the issue.

For now, the confirmed development is that the unit has shut and workers have approached the union and police over alleged unpaid wages. The amount and liability remain matters for investigation. The next meaningful update will be whether the owner is located, what the records show and whether authorities register a case or direct workers to another remedy. Until then, reporting should keep the distinction between allegations and established findings clear while recognising the immediate financial pressure on employees.