“We have asked the state government to provide subsistence allowance since several units have closed down,” said Jagdish Patel, Director, People’s Training and Research Centre. The centre works for the occupational safety and health awareness, research, training, publication and advocacy. In the last few years, the NGO has focused on silicosis.

The process of registering a unit under the Factories Act is long and tedious, as it comes packed with formalities such as mapping of the unit, licensing and the like. “All the agate related work is done mostly in homes employing anywhere between one and five people,” said Patel.

The Factories Act, 1948 is the principal legislation that governs the health, safety, and welfare of workers in factories. As per it, if a unit has over 10 workers it has to get itself registered. However, the states have the power to make amendments in the law as per their needs.

The Gujarat government had earlier brought down the number to five. In November 2008, another amendment further brought down the number to just over one. However, a unit is exempted if only family members are employed.