An organization of diamond workers in Surat, Ratna Kalakar Sangathan (RKS), is seeking to raise money to fund a documentary entitled Black Diamond that will show the plight Surat's diamond workers, the livemint.com website reports.

The film will demonstrate how the financial crisis of 2008 hit Surat, causing the diamond industry's workforce to be reduced by nearly half – prompting some 30 workers to commit suicide out of desperation.

The documentary will be made in Gujarati and dubbed in Hindi and English and copies will be sent to India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, and major diamond producers and diamond companies such as Alrosa and the DTC.

RKS President Masmukh Moradiya also says that Surat's diamond workers are still exploited and poorly paid.

In response, Surat Diamond Association President Dinesh Navadiya said that while workers in some companies might be underpaid, owners have raised wages twice since 2009, when the diamond trade began to see some recovery. "Wages may vary from worker to worker," Navadiya said.

Interestingly, the RKS's reports of exploitation of and poor pay for Surat's diamond workers come at a time when the local industry is suffering from a shortage of manpower. Navadiya told the Hindustan Times on December 6 that Surat had about 25% fewer diamond workers than necessary.