Quarry company denies allegations, urges workers to engage on way forward

Amid allegations about the treatment of Indian nationals employed at the Region Seven quarry run by EKAA HRIM Earth Resources Management, the company has refuted the claims made.

At a press conference held at Cara Lodge in Georgetown on Thursday, company representatives denied that passports were confiscated and that workers were subjected to poor accommodation and inadequate meals.

Company representative Karthick Muthuvel maintained that salary obligations — including statutory remittances to the Guyana Revenue Authority and the National Insurance Scheme — had been met up to the end of March, and that payments for April and May remain outstanding but are to be settled. Muthuvel also said allegations of forced labour are “false and deeply irresponsible,” noting that no employee was compelled to remain at the site in Batavia. It was also explained that the passport were lodged at the company office at the behest of the employees, reportedly for safekeeping.

Meanwhile, EKAA’s Shiva Kumar addressed the death of worker Sekhar Chhetri, who reportedly died on May 12. The company representative said he died of a heart attack. Kumar said Chhetri’s remains are being embalmed and will be repatriated to India, with arrangements handled by Memorial Gardens.

On the question of repatriation, Yoganand Persaud, former chief labour officer who is providing consultancy services to the company, explained that the company would pay for an employee’s flight back to India after 24 months of work. If the work contract was terminated before that by the employee, they would have to pay for their flight back to India.

To move forward now, the company representatives urged the workers to engage them. Persaud assured the workers that their complaints would be individually addressed.

“We have to get each one of the workers to deal with each one, because each contract is different,” Persaud said.

Guyana’s Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning is investigating the matter. In a release issued earlier this week, the ministry said passports have been returned to the 38 workers who raised the complaints.

Subject Minister, Keoma Griffith, told reporters that the investigation now involves his ministry and the Ministries of Human Services and Home Affairs because of the seriousness and scope of the claims, which include allegations of withheld passports, unsafe working conditions, outstanding payments, and other labour violations.

According to Griffith, investigators are examining workers’ contracts, safety conditions, living arrangements, and allegations of unpaid salaries and overtime.