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Top Glove has been in the news a lot lately for all the wrong reasons, especially in recent weeks. Recently, workers’ dormitories were exposed to deplorable conditions and were not properly maintained. Even the Minister of Human Resources spoke on this matter. While claims about dormitory conditions have been refuted by Top Glove CEO Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai, who said the company has spent millions on new apartments, new beds, and more,
But before that, Top Glove received negative attention after Malaysia recorded the highest number of daily cases. This was because the increase in cases was related to the Teratai group that originated in the dormitories of Top Glove workers. As a result of this, Defense Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri announced that the National Security Council agreed that 28 Top Glove factories in Klang will be closed in stages for workers to be screened and go through the mandatory quarantine period.
But here is the most important question, are they really following orders?
After we published the report on the announcement of the closure of the 28 factories, World of Buzz received several tips during the last three days from people who claimed to be employees of the Top Glove factory.
On November 24, we received an email from one of those people who said that despite being told to shut down, they were informed otherwise by management.
“This morning our management said there is no closure for any factories, they close only production and run their packing and container loading in silence.”
When contacted, the employee said: “We also have family and we are afraid to come to work. If we say goodbye it means that they will keep our salary, so we hope that measures are taken, ”he said.
However, the employee updated us the next day (November 25) saying that there was supposedly a raid that was carried out by the Ministry of Health that morning and another closure notice was issued to all factories.
Later that day (Nov 25), we received several other messages from a couple of other employees with screenshots of messages from Top Glove management. The employee said the Top Glove CEO allegedly questioned why so many people underwent swab testing in the first place.
In the screenshot above, we were told that “TS” refers to Tan Sri, who supposedly did not believe the test results that resulted in so many positive cases. He even questioned the laboratory personnel to which the workers’ swab tests were sent.
“The lab manager already told TS to run the tests before, but he didn’t listen. Now when there are so many cases, TS said why test so many people, if they were NOT tested, there wouldn’t be so many positive cases. “
In another message shared with us, a superior was telling his employee to make sure that the public or journalists don’t see any Top Glove factories operating as usual. The superior then informs the employee to lock the doors and make sure that the personnel carts are not parked inside the factory.
“Make the factory look closed!”
Speaking to World of Buzz, the employee said that workers from closed factories are sent to operating factories to work. Even after employees have been swabbed, they are asked to come to work with their pink bracelets. The Head of Human Resources did not initially even inform them that the Teratai Cluster originated from Top Glove workers.
After the announcement was made that the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) would be enforced in Top Glove workers’ dormitories, some factory workers were asked to hide inside, but were sent to swab tests after they developed some symptoms, the employee told us.
Top Glove workers queuing in their dormitories without social distancing.
To fill this void, workers were forced to run the production line, which is when some of them got infected and went into quarantine. All other workers were supposedly supposed to be quarantined, but apparently Top Glove has its own definition of “close contact.”
When we asked more about this definition, we were told that “at Top Glove, only the employee who was in the same closed office with the infected for more than 15 minutes is considered close contact” while, for most other companies, is infected, the entire office would be advised to quarantine themselves and get a swab test.
“Most of the staff are just afraid of their bosses!”
We also ask how the workers are doing their jobs despite their dangerous conditions. The employee said that while some workers are doing it just for their wages, some have been brainwashed. If they are not willing to come to work, they are forced to exhaust their annual leave.
When the cases increased, the production line stopped, but all workers had to come to work following their normal shifts. The employee added that standard operating procedures for basic face masks were not even being followed, as workers were asked to reuse their masks by drying them in the sun. This was before cases went up, now, however, they provide two masks a day.
It is disappointing to see that large corporations continue to put their profits above the safety of their employees. What would it take for this company to stop its production line, even if it’s only for a week?
Disclaimer: All screenshots and information above were provided by individuals claiming to be current Top Glove employees who contacted World of Buzz for assistance. Your identity has been kept anonymous for privacy and security reasons.
Also read: Top Glove again called for unsanitary and terrible conditions in quarantine centers for foreign workers
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