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KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government has opened 19 investigative documents on six subsidiaries of the world’s largest glove maker, Top Glove, for crimes related to workers’ dormitories.
This followed concurrent enforcement operations carried out by the Peninsular Malaysia Department of Labor (JTKSM), an agency under the Ministry of Human Resources last Thursday (Nov 26).
“The main offense was that employers failed to apply for the Department of Labor’s housing certification under Section 24D of the Minimum Standards of Housing and Workers’ Services Act of 1990,” said Tuesday (December 1) the director general of JTKSM, Asri Ab Rahman.
This had led to other crimes, including congested rooms and dormitories, which were uncomfortable and stuffy, he added.
Furthermore, the buildings used to house the workers did not comply with the statutes of the local authorities.
“The JTKSM will take the next step to forward the investigation documents already open to the Deputy Prosecutor so that all these crimes can be investigated under the law,” said Asri.
Each violation under the law carries a fine of RM50,000 and possible jail time, he added.
Control operations were carried out at Top Gloves worker dormitories in Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan and Johor after the discovery of a cluster of COVID-19 in a Top Glove worker dormitory in Meru, Klang el November 7.
Top Glove is now the largest contributor to Malaysia’s COVID-19 cases, with the group called Teratai becoming the country’s largest new COVID-19 cluster.
READ: Businesses and residents near Top Glove dormitories on the brink, as COVID-19 cases rise among workers
READ: Malaysia’s hand sanitizer and rubber glove makers are in overdrive as demand rises on COVID-19 fears
As of November 30, the group had 4,278 cases, while the national count was 65,697.
The manufacturer had to close its factories in stages to test for COVID-19, while the improved motion control order imposed on the workers’ dormitory was extended until December 14.
Previously, Top Glove had been criticized by human rights groups for, among others, debt bondage caused by high recruitment fees and withholding of workers’ passports.
In 2018, the Thomson Reuters Foundation revealed that foreign workers had to work long hours to earn overtime, in some cases exceeding the legal overtime limit.
Top Glove workers undergo COVID-19 testing following a surge in cases that has resulted in Selangor’s largest COVID-19 cluster yet. (Photo: Vincent Tan)
In July this year, the United States Customs and Border Protection banned imports from two Top Glove subsidiaries over concerns about forced labor, despite the increase in global demand for medical gloves due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 19.
On October 6, Top Glove declared that it would remediate RM136 million (US $ 32.77 million) to its migrant workers for hiring fees over the next 10 months, with two remediation payments already made in August and September.
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