“How We Are Missing? We Are Standing Here” — Indian Workers at Ekaa Hrim Demand Wages, Tickets Home
By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Indian nationals employed at the Ekaa Hrim Earth Resources Management quarry in Batavia, Region Seven, took to the streets of Georgetown this week to make a direct public appeal: they want their outstanding wages paid, they want airfare home to India, and they want the Guyanese authorities and the Indian High Commission to act with urgency.
The workers picketed with the support of We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) executive member Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who have both called on the Government to move faster in resolving what they describe as a crisis of migrant worker exploitation.
“We Are Not Missing”
One of the workers directly addressed a claim that has alarmed their families in India — that company representatives have been contacting relatives and telling them the workers are missing.
“We are all not missing. We are standing,” the worker said. “We meet with the embassy. We are meeting with a government official. They are calling — company people are calling. They’re saying to the family, we are all missing. How we are missing? We are standing here.”
The allegation — that Ekaa Hrim or associated persons have been contacting workers’ families in India to suggest the workers are unaccounted for, while the workers are visibly present in Georgetown and have met with the Indian High Commission and Government officials — is one of the most serious new developments in the unfolding case.
The Indian High Commission has also been asked whether it is aware of contact being made with workers’ families in India and what steps it is taking to ensure families are correctly informed of the workers’ whereabouts and status.
What the Workers Are Asking For
According to the workers’ account, they are still awaiting clear assistance from both the Ministry of Labour and the Indian High Commission. Their immediate priorities, stated plainly, are: payment of outstanding wages, tickets to return to India, and accountability for what they say they endured at the Batavia site.
WIN Calls for Arrest
Tabitha Sarabo-Halley argued that the return of the workers’ passports — which, according to the Ministry of Labour, were confiscated upon their arrival in Guyana and returned only after ministerial intervention — is itself sufficient grounds for criminal charges under Guyana’s Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act.
“They came back to give their passports without pretending they don’t know who brought their passports back to these employees,” Sarabo-Halley said. “It’s trafficking in persons and so they must be arrested. They must be charged.”
Under Guyana’s Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act and international protocols, the confiscation of travel documents from migrant workers is classified as an indicator of trafficking in persons. Sarabo-Halley’s specific legal argument — that the act of passport confiscation and return is itself evidence of trafficking — reflects this legal framework, though whether charges are ultimately brought will depend on the findings of the ongoing multi-agency investigation.
Sarabo-Halley also called for a wider investigation into other companies connected to Ekaa Hrim.
Mohamed: “Modern-Day Slavery”
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed accused the Government of failing to act with adequate urgency in securing the workers’ back pay and return travel arrangements.
“This is modern-day slavery under this administration,” Mohamed said. “This is like when our forebears back in the 1700s and 1800s used to work in the cane fields. This is what is happening in this country.”
Mohamed’s reference is to the system of Indian indentureship in Guyana — under which Indian labourers were brought to work on Guyanese sugar plantations between 1838 and 1917 following the abolition of African slavery. The comparison is a pointed one in Guyanese political and historical context, where the memory of indentureship remains significant for a substantial portion of the population.
He said the workers have been in Guyana for years, are owed wages for work performed, and should be allowed to return home to their families without further delay.
Investigation Ongoing
The Government’s multi-agency investigation into conditions at the Batavia quarry — involving the Ministry of Labour, the Guyana Police Force, and the specialised Trafficking in Persons Unit — remains active.
Minister of Labour Keoma Griffith has indicated the Government will not prematurely characterise the case as human trafficking without a definitive forensic audit, but has confirmed the TIP Unit’s involvement and the seriousness with which the Government is treating the workers’ allegations.
The circumstances surrounding the May 12 death of Indian national Sekhar Chhetri at the Batavia site, and a separate incident in which a worker lost four fingers, are also part of the investigation.
The Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning has been asked for an update on the timeline for resolving the workers’ outstanding wages and repatriation arrangements.
