“Not Doing Us a Favor”: Simona Broomes Slams Ministry of Labour Over Systemic Mining Exploitation

By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News|

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – Dr. Simona Broomes, leader of the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), has launched a blistering attack on the Ministry of Labour, accusing state regulators of gross negligence in the face of rampant worker exploitation and human rights abuses within the nation’s mining sector.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Nightly News, the former Minister of Labour under the APNU+AFC coalition argued that the state has completely abandoned its regulatory duties, leaving both local and foreign laborers entirely defenseless against predatory corporate entities.

Broomes’ intervention follows a series of high-profile labor scandals that have thrust Guyana’s extractive industries into an unfavorable international spotlight. She noted that the current crisis is indicative of a broader, unchecked pattern of corporate impunity.

The ALP leader pointed to two recent, egregious examples:

• The Zijin Mining Grievances: Last year, Guyanese employees at the Chinese-owned mining giant exposed a toxic operational environment defined by severe wage underpayment, a lack of basic personal protective equipment (PPE), and sub-standard, unhygienic food quality.
• The Ekaa HRIM Quarry Crisis: Most recently, thirty-eight Indian nationals were rescued from a Region Seven job site after reporting horrific instances of labor trafficking. The workers faced the illegal confiscation of their passports, total withholding of wages, starvation, physical containment, and an extortionate $5,000 USD “exit fee” demanded by management. The operation also resulted in the tragic death of laborer Sekhar Chhetri under extreme operational duress.

Drawing on her past ministerial experience—where she was known for executing aggressive, unannounced field raids on non-compliant mining camps—Broomes asserted that the current administration’s approach to labor enforcement is completely broken. She noted that a labor policy built on reactive damage control rather than proactive prevention is fundamentally flawed.[ BROOMES SWEEPS THROUGH REGION 7 QUARRIES – https://youtu.be/QAi-5kyDROo]

“The government must ensure that workers are protected. And to protect them, you must prevent them from harm’s way,” Broomes insisted. “There is simply no inspection conducted in a lot of these companies. Without consistent, unannounced on-site inspections, unsafe working conditions go completely unchecked, leaving employees entirely vulnerable to exploitation, severe injury, and death.”

Broomes described the recent influx of labor trafficking and human rights allegations as a “regrettable” stain on Guyana’s sovereign reputation, stating that the Ministry has allowed multi-national corporations to act as laws unto themselves in the interior regions.

The ALP leader concluded by reminding senior cabinet officials that safeguarding the lives and dignity of the working class is a constitutional mandate, not a political bargaining chip.

“The government must be aggressive in protecting our workers,” Broomes declared. “The Ministry of Labour and the government are not doing Guyanese a favor; ensuring a safe and fair workplace is what they must do at the very least.”

Broomes is urging the state to immediately reallocate a significant portion of its ballooning fiscal budget to recruit, train, and deploy a robust corps of independent labor inspectors. She maintains that until the state demonstrates a willingness to aggressively penalize and shut down non-compliant corporate entities, the systemic exploitation of vulnerable laborers will continue to mar Guyana’s historic economic expansion.