The government of Guyana has ordered a probe after 38 Indian workers employed at a private quarrying company in the South American country alleged abuse, confiscation of passports, and severe violation of their rights.The company, Ekaa HRIM Earth Resources Management (Ekaa), is owned by Coimbatore-based Saju Bhaskar.Reports claimed the workers were subject to unfair contracts, confiscation of passports of workers, denial of wages, delayed payments, duping workers regarding compensation, arbitrary salary cuts and unsafe working conditions that caused severe injury to one worker and the death of another.The charges relate to the company’s mining operations in its Batavia, Region 7, quarry, located in Guyana’s Cuyuni-Mazaruni zone.Asked about the development, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the ministry is looking into the matter and will take every possible step for the betterment of Indian workers.”We are yet to receive any kind of information on this front. But, we will definitely monitor the development and do the needful,” he told The Tribune.In a statement, Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning, Guyana, Keoma Griffith, issued the India-headquartered EKAA HRIM a 24-hour ultimatum to respond to the matter.”The Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning has launched an investigation into allegations of abuse, poor working conditions and labour violations involving foreign (38 Indian) workers employed at Ekaa Hrim Earth Resources in Batavia Village, Region Seven, Guyana,” it said.Meanwhile, Griffith met with the Acting High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Manoj Kumar, as part of the ongoing engagement surrounding the matter.According to the statement, the workers were given an opportunity to voice their concerns directly to officials. One of the issues raised involved the withholding of passports by the employer. However, the ministry noted that following intervention by Minister Griffith, the passports were returned to the workers.The ministry also confirmed that allegations surrounding the reported death of a worker on May 12 are now part of the wider investigation.”A joint team comprising officers from the Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning, the Guyana Police Force, the Trafficking in Persons Unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs and other relevant agencies has been mobilized to conduct inquiries and assess conditions at the site.“The Ministry is actively monitoring the matter and will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the laws of Guyana,” it added.The Guyana government, however, is facing public backlash over what critics call a dangerously weak response to shocking allegations of forced labour, human trafficking, and severe exploitation at the interior mining quarry.Despite overwhelming, visible evidence of systemic illegality, including the illegal confiscation of passports and employment contracts that openly flout Guyanese law, the ministry granted the mining company a 24-hour grace period to respond, rather than initiating immediate state-level prosecutions, a labour expert said.Critics argue that by treating this severe statutory offense as a mere administrative dispute to be “rectified” through dialogue, the ministry is undermining the rule of law and signaling to abusive employers that they can violate human rights with impunity.