Controversial one-sided employment terms for Indian migrant workers at a major Guyanese quarry operated by India-based EKAA HRIM Earth Resources Management have triggered an official multi-agency investigation, following public outcry over alleged unfair labor practices and passport retention.
Details of the exploitative clauses came to light after Demerara Waves Online News obtained and reviewed one of the seven-year employment contracts binding 38 Indian migrant workers brought to Guyana to work at the 15-year lease quarry. The terms impose steep financial penalties on workers for a range of scenarios, including early termination, dismissal, and unauthorized absence.
Under the contract terms, workers terminated for cause—including providing incorrect personal information, code of conduct violations, or repeated underperformance after two formal warnings—are required to reimburse the company $3,000 to cover hiring, training, and administrative costs, in addition to covering their own return travel expenses out of pocket. Workers who choose to end their 24-month contract early face even higher penalties of $5,000, with no coverage for return travel provided by the employer. Any worker who absconds from their post forfeits all unpaid wages, accrued leave, and earned bonuses, and must pay an additional $5,000 contract breach fee within 14 days or face legal action.
The contract also includes restrictive clauses that limit worker speech and flexibility. Workers are barred from making defamatory or false statements about the company or other staff, with immediate termination and no severance pay as a consequence, plus the possibility of additional legal action for reputational damage. EKAA HRIM also reserves the right to modify company policies at its sole discretion, with the original contract and signed code of conduct taking precedence in any dispute. Workers are additionally prohibited from sharing contract details including salary and benefit amounts with external parties, a violation that counts as breach of contract.
Work schedule terms also raise concerns over excessive working hours and unpaid overtime. The contract requires workers to be on site 12 hours per day, six days per week, with mandatory work on public holidays and non-working days during emergencies at the employer’s request. While the company notes that base pay is structured to include overtime for the standard 72-hour work week, overtime is only granted for hours worked beyond the daily and weekly requirement after meeting production targets. Any extra time worked to hit targets delayed by external factors such as bad weather does not qualify for overtime pay, and workers who fail to meet production targets face automatic salary reductions.
The situation escalated after Guyana’s Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and a delegation of party leaders visited the quarry site over the weekend to meet with workers and hear their complaints. Multiple workers reported that the company had withheld their passports, a common tactic used to restrict migrant worker mobility. Following the outreach, Labour Minister Keoma Griffith announced Monday that he had coordinated with the Indian High Commissioner to secure the return of all 38 passports to the workers.
Griffith confirmed that a joint multi-agency investigative team has been assembled to conduct a full on-site inquiry into the workers’ allegations, which include claims of substandard working conditions, unfair labor treatment, and violations of occupational safety and health regulations. The team includes representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, the Guyana Police Force, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Trafficking In Persons Unit, and other relevant regulatory bodies.
The EKAA HRIM quarry, which covers 1,089 acres of leased land with a 30-acre active mining pit, was formally opened by Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in September 2023. The 15-year lease includes an option for renewal at the end of the term, and the company has announced plans to invest up to $20 million in the project. At the opening ceremony, EKAA Chairman Saju Bhaskar highlighted the company’s sustainable development plans, noting that the firm intends to power the entire mining operation with on-site solar energy in line with Guyana’s national low-carbon development strategy. For his part, President Ali noted that the new domestic quarry would help address Guyana’s growing construction material shortage, which has driven rising prices and forced the country to import millions of tons of quarry material in recent years to keep pace with rapid national development.