Protecting Worker’s Rights
Offering a fair deal for those employed at mines around the world, our cutting workshop in China, and our jewelry workshop in the United States goes beyond compliance with labor laws such as: no child labor, minimum wages, and safe, comfortable working conditions - we feel it is also our responsibility to ensure an equal opportunity for everyone and a real opportunity for personal growth.
Our cutting factory in China is a model workplace, praised by the government. An urgent consideration of every cutting operation should be the problem of Silicosis. Unlike most cutting facilities, our workshop has installed effective dust control systems to eliminate conditions from our entire cutting process that cause silicosis.
In Malawi, we helped build a school for the children of workers at the Chimwadzulu Mine, where rare Nyala Ruby® is found. With an attendance roll of 950, it also provides needed educational services for all the village children. Non-agricultural work is rare in this part of Malawi and infrastructure is almost non-existent. We are helping to develop the surrounding area with services to keep workers healthy and to bring new opportunities for their families. These include financial support for the only small medical clinic in the area, fresh water wells, teacher housing and replanting of forests wiped out to make charcoal for fuel.
This isn't just good for the workers: it's good for us because satisfied workers put more effort into improving the quality of the product. Turnover is low so workers become very experienced and skilled. Because we offer training and develop expertise, the quality of our products rivals any in the world.