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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia said on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation and would take legal action against the world’s largest glove maker Top Glove Corp after discovering that the company did not meet standards for worker accommodations.
The Department of Labor of the Ministry of Human Resources said in a briefing that compliance operations were carried out last week at six of Top Glove’s companies in five states, investigating conditions in workers’ accommodations and shelters.
Nineteen investigations have been opened and the department has recommended charges against the manufacturer, but did not specify how many.
The department said the operations were triggered by a COVID-19 outbreak at a Top Glove factory in an industrial area near Kuala Lumpur last month.
Investigators found the accommodations to be cramped, uncomfortable, poorly ventilated, and lacked seating and kitchen areas, Peninsular Malaysia Labor Department Director General Asri Ab Rahman told reporters.
He said charges would be brought and the department would continue to conduct such operations from time to time.
“There is concern in the ministry and pressure on the department to ensure that the accommodations that are provided to workers do not become a source of the spread of disease and that is not the reason why the country is condemned for forced labor,” said.
Malaysia closed some of Top Glove’s factories in stages last week to facilitate the detection and quarantine of employees for the novel coronavirus.
Tighter restrictions on movement, in effect since November 14, in the areas where factories and shelters are located, have been extended until December 14.
A total of 3,406 Top Glove workers tested positive on Monday. – Reuters
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