Is the future ready for the youth? Youth employment policies for evolving labour markets Challenges and opportunities for productive employment and decent work in the natural stone mining industry supply chain in Rajasthan Challenges and opportunities for productive employment and decent work in the natural stone mining industry supply chain in Rajasthan ILO Country Office for India and Sectoral Policies Department International Labour Office • Geneva ii Copyright © International Labour Organization 2021 First published 2021 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publishing (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. 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Code: JMB-REP iii Preface The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the United Nations (UN) specialized agency devoted to advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. The extraction of both major and minor minerals in Rajasthan, India, provides direct employment to some 7-800,000 people and indirect employment to more than 2.2 million men and women. The State is host to globally significant deposits of natural stone, including granite, sandstone, marble, and limestone. A leader in the exploration, mining, and processing of natural stone, the natural stone industry is a substantial local employer. This report was prepared as an input for the formulation of a state-wide tripartite sectoral development strategy. It examines possibilities to build on Rajasthan’s competitive advantages, advance productive employment and decent work across the natural stone value chain, and make the State a responsible destination for investors and buyers. It provides evidence and analysis of the current activities across the natural stone supply chain; highlights current challenges and emerging trends affecting both domestic and international markets; and identifies recommendations for action by the Government of Rajasthan, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and buyers and investors. Dagmar Walter Alette van Leur Director, ILO Decent Work Team Director, Sectoral Policies Department for South Asia and Country Office for India iv Acknowledgements The report is the result of the combined efforts of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South Asia and Country Office for India and the Sectoral Policies Department. The ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South Asia and Country Office for India is a centre of technical excellence, which supports all countries in South Asia to realize decent work for inclusive growth and sustainable development. The ILO’s Sectoral Policies Department promotes decent work by supporting the Organization’s tripartite constituents – governments, employers and workers – in seizing opportunities and addressing challenges in 22 different economic and social sectors, including mining. The research on decent work challenges and opportunities in natural stone production in Rajasthan was carried out by Development Solutions. The report was written by Justin van Rhyn, Julia Baxter and Tom Mills (Two Oceans Strategy). They were supervised by Sudipta Bhadra, Camila Meireles and Casper Edmonds. Colleagues in the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South Asia and Country Office for India as well as in ILO Headquarters provided valuable suggestions for improvements. Valuable contributions were also received from the State Government of Rajasthan, in particular the Department of Industries, the Department of Labour, the Office of the Labour Commissioner, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, and others. We also thank our social partners in the State – the Central trade unions and their state wings along with the employers’ organizations – whose inputs were incorporated into the design of the study and the findings of this report. Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the Government of Flanders for its generous and strategic financial support. v Contents Preface iii Acknowledgements iv Acronyms ix Executive Summary xi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Project overview 2 1.2 Study purpose and scope 2 1.3 Study methods 3 1.4 Overview of the natural stone industry in India and Rajasthan 4 1.5 Value chain overview 5 1.6 Employment 7 1.7 Production and trade 7 2 The natural stone market system in Rajasthan 10 2.1 Introduction 12 2.2 Core value chain structure 14 2.3 Value chain governance 22 2.4 Supporting functions 23 2.5 Laws, regulation and policies 25 2.6 Informal norms 26 3 The institutional and regulatory framework 27 3.1 Introduction 28 3.2 Legislative and regulatory framework 29 3.3 Institutions involved in the governance of the natural stone sector 31 3.4 Role of other organizations in the governance and policy formation in the natural stone value chain 33 3.5 Compliance and enforcement 35 vi Challenges and opportunities for productive employment and decent work in the natural stone mining industry supply chain in Rajasthan 4 Decent work challenges and opportunities 37 4.1 Introduction 38 4.2 Profile of worker respondents 40 4.3 Worker skills 40 4.4 Working conditions 41 4.5 Occupational safety and health 45 4.6 Social protection 47 4.7 Fundamental principles and rights at work 48 4.8 Gender dimensions in the supply chain 49 5 Trends in the international marketplace 51 5.1 Introduction 52 5.2 Drivers of demand in the international marketplace 53 5.3 International demand centres 54 5.4 India’s Position in the international marketplace 56 5.5 Trends in Indian exports 59 5.6 International buying practices 60 5.7 Global practice in sustainable production and responsible purchasing 60 5.8 Responsible sourcing management approaches 63 5.9 Responsible sourcing and micro, small and medium enterprises 66 6 Conclusion 67 6.1 Summary of key findings 68 6.2 Notable policy challenges 68 6.3 Suggested policy interventions 71 6.4 Strategic questions 72 Bibliography 73 Contents vii List of figures X Figure 1: Location of field research 3 X Figure 2: Overview of the structure of the natural stone industry 5 X Figure 3: The natural stone market system 13 X Figure 4: Natural stone mining value chain map 14 X Figure 5: Production-stage activities 16 X Figure 6: In-house and outsourced functions 17 X Figure 7: Activities undertaken by processing units surveyed 19 X Figure 8: Value added at each stage of the value chain (estimates in INR per tonne) 22 X Figure 9: Receipt of benefits as reported by workers (in percent, n=115) 47 X Figure 10: Twenty largest natural and monumental stone importers by value, 2019 54 X Figure 11: Comparison of the change in natural stone imports from NAFTA and Europe, compared to global trends for 2010–2019 55 X Figure 12: Proportion of the value of global natural stone exports by country 2001–2019 56 X Figure 13: Indian export (US$) of monumental and natural stone 2001–2019 (US$ thousands) 57 X Figure 14: Trends in exports of Indian natural stone to key export markets by country, 2010–2019 57 X Figure 15: Unit value of exports from 2001 to 2019 for the top five exporters 59 List of tables X Table 1: Details of natural stone in Rajasthan 4 X Table 2: Overview of employment and productivity related to quarrying in Rajasthan, by stone type 7 X Table 3: Production of natural stone, 2015–2018 (million tonnes) 8 X Table 4: Overview of lease and production in Rajasthan, for 2017–2018, by stone type 8 X Table 5: Productivity per lease and employee 8 X Table 6: Average saleable production per mine, per month (tonnes) 16 X Table