The Ministry of Labour is facing sharp public criticism over what many are calling an inadequate response to allegations of forced labour, human trafficking, and severe worker exploitation at an interior mining quarry in Region Seven operated by Ekaa Hrim Earth Resources Management in Batavia Village.
On Monday, 37 Indian nationals arrived at the ministry’s Brickdam office at 9:30 AM seeking state protection. A multi-agency task force, including the Trafficking in Persons Unit from the Ministry of Home Affairs and representatives from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, arrived at 11:00 AM. It was not until 2:30 PM, following sustained state intervention, that company representatives returned the workers’ passports, which had been unlawfully withheld. By past 8:00 PM, workers were still on the premises being interviewed individually by the task force.
Critics have pointed out that the ministry’s own press release, which described the return of the documents as a resolution achieved through ministerial intervention, amounts to an implicit admission that a serious criminal offence had been committed. Under the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act of Guyana, any person who knowingly confiscates or possesses another person’s passport for the purpose of trafficking commits an offence punishable by a fine of one million dollars and imprisonment of up to five years.
Despite this, the ministry granted Ekaa Hrim a 24-hour grace period to respond to the allegations rather than initiating immediate prosecutions, a decision that has been widely condemned as a toothless response to what critics describe as a humanitarian crisis.
Employment contracts signed by the Indian nationals and reviewed by Kaieteur News reveal conditions that deviate significantly from Guyanese labour law. The contracts mandate 12-hour workdays and 72-hour work weeks, in direct violation of the statutory standard of eight hours per day and a maximum of 48 hours per week. Overtime compensation is denied when extra hours are worked to meet targets or compensate for weather delays, despite Guyanese law requiring mandatory overtime pay for any work exceeding standard limits regardless of operational reasons.
Most troublingly, the contracts include a USD$5,000 penalty for leaving the worksite or the country without written permission, classifying such departure as absconding. Legal experts note that such clauses are entirely unenforceable under Guyanese law, which guarantees freedom of movement and explicitly prohibits mandatory financial penalties for resignation. The effect of such a clause, critics argue, is to create a financial chokehold trapping workers in remote and dangerous conditions.
The human cost of conditions at the quarry has been severe. Photographic evidence obtained by this publication shows an Indian national who lost multiple fingers while working under allegedly substandard safety conditions. The ministry has also confirmed it is investigating the death of a worker, identified as Sekhar Chhetri, at the site on May 12, 2026. Workers told Kaieteur News that Chhetri’s sudden death, combined with an environment of unaddressed workplace hazards, prompted them to seek outside help. They communicated their situation to Guyanese living nearby, who in turn contacted the Leader of the Opposition, who raised the matter publicly.
Workers stated that no labour commissioner, minister, or safety official had visited the Batavia site in the two years they had been working there. They also described the site as geographically isolated and entirely dependent on boat transportation, which they said was frequently unavailable, with no proper medical facilities on location.
The joint task force comprising the Guyana Police Force and the TIP Unit continues its investigations. Public attention now rests on Minister of Labour Keoma Griffith and whether the full weight of Guyana’s anti-trafficking legislation will be brought to bear on the matter.
SOURCE: Kaieteur News, “Govt. accused of coddling quarry firm amid human trafficking, forced labour scandal,” May 19, 2026
