[ad_1]
KUALA LUMPUR: Bangladeshi migrant worker Sheikh Kibria recalls with horror the dirty and cluttered bedroom where he was housed by the world’s largest manufacturer of rubber gloves when a coronavirus outbreak broke out and infected thousands.
Top Glove saw earnings skyrocket and its share price surged as much as 400% this year as countries around the world scrambled to buy protective gear as the pandemic intensified.
But in interviews with AFP, South Asian migrants working flat out to make the gloves, who generally earn around US $ 300 (RM1,215) a month, described appalling living conditions in cramped dormitories where up to 25 people sleep in bunk beds in a single room.
Some claim that the company did not do enough to protect them despite repeated warnings.
The scandal has added to mounting pressure on the company, which is already under scrutiny after the United States banned the importation of some of its gloves over forced labor allegations earlier this year.
The infections also led to factory closures and appear to have an impact on global supply.
Top Glove, which dominates about a quarter of the world market, warned of delays in deliveries and price increases.
More than 5,000 workers, nearly a quarter of the company’s workforce, tested positive after the outbreak in an industrial area that houses factories and dormitories on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.
“It’s so overcrowded,” said Bangladeshi worker Kibria.
“The room itself is minimal. It is impossible to maintain cleanliness when so many people live in one room. It’s like an army barracks, only with less maintenance. “
As the situation escalated last month, Top Glove began moving infected workers to the hospital and their close contacts to quarantine centers, reducing the number of bedrooms.
Kibria, 24, was suspected of having Covid-19. First, he was admitted to the hospital. He later tested negative and was transferred to a hotel.
‘The action was too little, too late’
But critics say the action was too small, too late.
“The company had discussed the possibility of reducing the number of people in the rooms before the infections started, but it never happened,” a Nepalese production line worker, Karan Shrestha, told AFP.
“The rooms were full of people. In the end, coronavirus cases began to increase.
“The company did not keep the workers safe. They were greedy and more concerned about their income and profits, ”he added.
AFP used pseudonyms to protect the identity of the workers, as they were afraid to speak.
As cases increased, the government ordered the closure of 28 Top Glove factories, of the 41 it operates in Malaysia.
Authorities are planning legal action against the company for poor accommodation of the workers, which could result in heavy fines.
The firm, which has 21,000 employees and can produce 90 billion gloves a year, insists it is making improvements.
It has spent RM20 million to purchase new worker accommodation in the last two months. He plans to build “mega-shelters” equipped with modern facilities that can house up to 7,300 people.
“We are aware that much remains to be done to improve the wellbeing of our employees and we promise to rectify deficiencies immediately,” said Managing Director Lee Kim Meow.
His comments came this week when the company announced a 20-fold increase in quarterly net profit to RM2.4 billion.
For those campaigning for low-paid immigrants, the controversy highlights how companies continue to put profits before people.
“The company, its investors and buyers have prioritized delivering more gloves, faster and more profitably, over the well-being of its workforce, primarily migrant workers,” said Andy Hall, a migrant labor specialist who focuses on Asia. .
Malaysia has long been attracting immigrants from the poorer parts of the region to work in industries ranging from manufacturing to agriculture.
Top Glove says the vast majority of workers who tested positive have already been discharged from the hospital and some factories are now reopening.
But some workers remain terrified at the prospect of returning to the production line, despite the company trying to enforce social distancing and providing protective gear.
“If we worked in the factory, I’d be really scared,” said Salman from Bangladesh, speaking from his shelter.
“Even with added security, it is really difficult to prevent an outbreak.”
CLICK HERE FOR OUR LIVE UPDATE ON THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA
