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PETALING JAYA (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysia’s Department of Labor has been told to fully focus on probing working and housing conditions at Top Glove factories after a Covid-19 outbreak among the factory workers led to the largest active Covid in the country. -19 cluster.
The conglomerate around the company’s factory and dormitory area in the city of Meru only contributed 1,511 of the 1,623 cases recorded in Selangor state on Tuesday (November 24), according to the Health Ministry. That’s 93.1 percent of the state total.
Since November 7, the group registered a total of 4,036 positive cases.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan said that the National Security Council (NSC) had decided to do “full force” to stop the spread of the virus in the group that originated in the largest world’s disposable glove manufacturer after more than two thousand employees tested. positive for Covid-19.
“We are not simply sending a team to check the conditions at Top Glove. It will be the entire Department of Labor.
“We will complete everything in a week and we will put everything in black and white.
“This is a question of life and death of vulnerable workers, which must be contained now, there are no two ways to do it,” Saravanan said.
Saravanan, who had visited the Top Glove plant several days earlier with Labor Department officials, said the workers’ living conditions were deplorable.
“I have visited the shelters and the conditions are dire. My officers were ordered to go with all their might, as this is a large and vulnerable colony of migrant workers. If we do not act, this group could spiral out of control.”
“The Department of Labor will make sure that employers are held accountable for workers’ conditions and extreme measures will be taken in accordance with the law,” Saravanan said.
In the photos and videos provided by the minister, the shelters look crowded and unsanitary.
In July, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) banned imports to two Top Glove subsidiaries on forced labor charges.
In response, on October 24, Top Glove said it had resolved the issues highlighted by the US Department of Labor (DOL).
In a statement issued, Top Glove said it was working closely with authorities to combat the pandemic.
“Top Glove wishes to assure our customers that we are working closely with authorities during this period to ensure the continued safety and well-being of our employees and the local community, which remains our highest priority,” the statement read.
He added that the company would continue to adhere to the Covid-19 preventive rules strictly.
“Disinfection exercises in our facilities and accommodation are also carried out regularly, with all necessary precautionary measures strictly in place,” the statement read.
Top Glove currently employs more than 21,000 workers nationwide.
It has 28 factories in the Klang district, the epicenter of the Teratai cluster.
On November 23, the NSC decided that Top Glove should close its factories in stages after Covid-19 was found to break the circle of workers.
The group first emerged on November 7 and now has 4,036 cases. Of the total, more than 80 percent are foreign workers.
The once busy and overcrowded city Meru, where several units of the Top Glove factory are located, is now like a ghost town.
Local residents in the area say they are afraid to leave their homes as the area has recorded more than 1,000 positive cases of Covid-19.
S. Ganeswary, a single mother of two, who makes a living cleaning houses, said she is afraid to leave her home due to the large number of positive Covid-19 cases in the area.
“I take all possible precautions, like wearing a mask and washing my hands regularly, but I still have the feeling that I too can get infected,” he added.
R. Letchumi, 69, who works as a cleaner at an iron products company located next to one of Top Glove’s factories, says she prays long before going to work every day.
“I pray that Covid-19 forgives me and my husband, who is currently sick at home,” she added.
The Top Glove factory next to their workplace is one of the facilities closed after some of their workers tested positive for Covid-19.
Izzat Nazni, 20, who also lives in Taman Seri Meru, said the Top Glove situation has made residents of the area distrust foreigners.
“It is not a pleasant thing, but people have been scared off by the foreign workers in the area,” said Izzat, who helps his mother with her kueh supply business.
He added that there are many foreign workers who work in other nearby factories that rent houses in the area where he is staying.
According to Izzat, every time foreign workers pass by on their way to work, residents of the neighborhood quickly walk away and look at them suspiciously.
“I guess it’s because everyone is scared,” he added.
Meanwhile, Meru Assemblyman Mohd Fakhrulrazi Mohd Mokhtar urged authorities to halt operations at all Top Glove plants in the area.
Currently, only 16 stores stopped while 12 more were operating at reduced capacity.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said employers need to ensure there is ample space for workers to practice social distancing in the workplace and in shelters.
“For example, there should be no shared bed. The bathrooms should not be shared by too many workers and they should be kept very clean at all times,” Santiago said.
He urged the Ministry of Human Resources to crack down on employers who do not meet the standards of Covid-19 protection measures imposed on hostels and dormitories.
“Sufficient time has been given and the government must ensure that the accommodation guidelines formulated are implemented with immediate effect,” he added.
Kapar’s deputy, Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, said that factory operators must also inform authorities immediately if an employee tests positive.
“They should not try to solve the problem themselves,” added Abdullah Sani.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Monday that Top Glove’s 28 plants in the Kapar area will be closed in stages for mass testing and quarantine of its workers.
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