Women cooks rescued from Omai Backdam after dredge owner refuses to pay wages

Seven months after going into the Omai Backdam to work as cooks with a dredge owner, two women had to be rescued on Saturday by the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) with assistance from the Ministry of Natural Resources & the Environment and the police following the miner’s refusal to pay them and not having money for transportation.

A relative of one of the women contacted GWMO’s President, Simona Broomes who upon hearing the story contacted Minister Robert Persaud and asked for assistance to remove the women who hail from Kwakwani. With the ministry’s help and that of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), Broomes said a vehicle, mines officer and a police officer were provided for them to make the trip.

Yesterday, the women, 30-year-old Vashawn Hopkinson,