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KUALA LUMPUR – A production worker at the world’s largest rubber glove manufacturer Top Glove lamented that conditions in his company-provided Malaysian accommodation are dire.
“Each room has between eight and 12 workers, and we share a bathroom,” the young migrant worker told The Straits Times, on condition of anonymity.
“I am not comfortable with the accommodation as there are so many workers in one room and it gets dirty,” he said. Sometimes water was not available to clean the bathrooms, he said.
As Malaysian authorities try to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, the dormitories of foreign workers have become hotbeds of infections.
Average daily cases in Malaysia have mostly stayed above 1,000 per day since November, reaching a record 2,188 on November 24.
Health experts say congested and unsanitary bedrooms are breeding grounds for the Covid-19 virus.
The coronavirus group linked to Top Glove, called the Teratai group after the street where many of the company’s factories and dormitories are located, recorded at least 5,083 positive cases from 6,609 people tested as of Monday (Nov. 30).
Worse still, labor activists say that Top Glove’s dormitories in Selangor’s Klang district are the tip of the iceberg of poor housing conditions for foreign workers in Malaysia.
“It is important to note that the issues exposed through the Top Glove abuse case study are systemic issues across the Malaysian glove sector and indeed most sectors of the Malaysian economy. they are labor intensive, “said migrant worker rights activist Andy Hall. .
“Conditions at Top Glove are far from the worst; they are actually better than most,” Hall told ST. He shared photos showing shelters from other glove manufacturers and described them as “appalling” and “terrible.”
Top Glove hires 21,000 employees at its plants in four countries, of which 11,000 are migrant workers at its factories in Malaysia. They mostly come from South Asian countries like India, Bangladesh and Nepal, earning a basic monthly salary starting at around RM1,200 (S $ 394).
Top Glove’s dormitories in and around Klang are under a strict lockdown called the Enhanced Movement Control Order, with barbed wire fencing around the complex.
Malaysia registered 1,141 new daily cases on Friday to bring the total to 70,236. There were no new deaths, and the death toll remained at 376.
About 890,000 foreign workers will have to undergo COVID-19 screening, which has begun, Chief Minister (security group) Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Tuesday. The government is distributing 100,000 rapid antigen test kits to clinics and hospitals in several states in the first phase of testing.
Malaysia has two million foreigners working legally in the country.
According to estimates, there are another two million undocumented immigrants and it is not clear how they can be persuaded to undergo medical examinations.
The government said Tuesday that it would take legal action against Top Glove after finding that it did not meet standards for worker accommodations.
Top Glove said it has spent RM20 million in the past two months to improve worker accommodation and is looking to expand its dormitories.
Employers say they needed more time to meet government requirements, such as housing just six workers for every 1,500 square feet. The government has warned that those who fail to do so will be fined RM50,000 per worker.
“The housing condition of workers may not be as good as it should be. But employers need time,” Executive Director of the Federation of Malaysian Employers, Shamsuddin Bardan, told ST. “Even meeting the requirements by the end of next year would be challenging due to the economic slowdown.”
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