When Human Rights Defenders, which also includes the Media, highlights violation of human rights, including worker rights, then the government must INVESTIGATE and take action to remedy the rights violations and injustices. It is not right for government to cast 'aspersions' on those who highlight rights violations.
Recently, the Guardian newspaper, highlighted allegations of worker rights violations in a Malaysian company.
The speed in which the Ministry responded need to be applauded. Yes, independent investigations should have been carried out by the Ministry, which should also mean contacting the Guardian who allegedly based its report in some documentary evidence(pay slips, etc) and also speaking to some of the affected workers.
What is shocking is when the Minister comes out so fast and speaks to the Media, making suggestions that these allegations are false...possibly 'the work of industry rivals' ...REMEMBER 1MDB - a similar response by the Malaysian government then, which denied any such wrongdoings ...but today, we know otherwise.
The Guardian newspaper knows the risk of making baseless reports - they could be sued by Top Glove. Has Top Glove commence any legal action against the Guardian yet?
Allegations about worker rights violation of Top Glove workers came out in Guardian on 9/12/2018, and it is shocking how the Minister could have come to conclusions so fast.
The Guardian interviewed 16 Top Glove workers and three from WRP. The Top Glove workers – eight from Nepal and eight from Bangladesh – alleged that their factory was “mental torture” where they had to work seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day, with only one day off a month. Their shirts were each branded with the Top Glove logo: “Be honest and no cheating.”...Payslips seen by the Guardian seemed to indicate workers often worked between 120 and 160 hours’ overtime a month, exceeding the 104 hours allowed by Malaysian law...“We can’t say no to working on rest days or on overtime,” said one 30-year-old Bangladeshi worker, who asked to remain unnamed out of fear of company reprisals. “If we do, they say they will just send us back and I cannot afford to lose this job.” - The Guardian, 9/12/2018
Now, it was reported that the Ministry as part of its investigation visited 22 factories...Note that Top Glove employs 19,000 workers - 15,000 foreign(migrant) workers and just 4,000 local workers. [I thought that Malaysia had a quota when it comes to migrant workers - was it not 15 or 30% only?]
The department had also visited 22 factories owned by Top Glove and other companies...Top Glove employs some 15,000 foreign workers and 4,000 locals. – December 12, 2018, Malaysian Insight
One day, after this allegations surfaced, the media reported that 'RUBBER glove manufacturer Top Glove has
been cleared by Human Resources Minister M. Kula Segaran, who said
allegations of worker mistreatment at the company are mostly false.'. It also stated that, 'He said only one claim in The Guardian’s exclusive report on the matter has basis, and it is being investigated by the Labour Department.'( December 10, 2018, Malaysian Insight)
How can the Minister make such statements so quickly - he should really simply have stated that the Ministry will investigate the allegations immediately, and wait for the outcome of the independent investigations before coming out with any conclusions.
It is very wrong to come to the defence of the alleged perpetrator at this stage, and after all, even if 'one claim' has basis, it warrants more comprehensive and 'independent' investigations.
Remember, many workers are afraid to speak the truth when there is a risk of retaliation from the employer - more so, when it comes to migrant workers or short-term contract workers. Did the Ministry meet with workers supplied by the employer?
The coming to the defence of the alleged employer perpetrator by the Minister really will DETER workers and HR Defenders from highlighting alleged wrongdoings by employer companies, is that what the new Pakatan Harapan government wants?
Did the Minister speak to the trade union/s in Top Glove - if there are no unions, why is this?
See the Facebook live on the Minister's Media Conference. Odd(and not very good) when the conference is with the Top Glove representatives...it should have been just the Minister and Ministry reps at the media Conference.
Top Glove in the live feed seem to have admitted that they broke the law on overtime in the past - So, will the government take action, which they really should?
The law cannot be broken even if the employee insists, or the employer and employee agrees to. Those who break the law must be charged...no exceptions.
The Minister/Ministry must be always independent, and seen to be independent - in the past, many a time some Ministry officials were seen as pro-employer - that deters workers and/or HR Defenders highlighting wrongdoings of employers.
The penalty for retaliation by employers on employees who lodge complaints or highlight worker abuses must be higher.
In any event, what we need now is for a thorough independent investigation and actions against the employer if there are violations of the law and worker rights..
Government assist worker rights violations? In Malaysia, sadly the law does in some cases - one example is the OVERTIME LIMIT which is an absurd 104 hours a month - meaning workers could end up working at least 12 hours per day...This is way above the international labour standards - see Malaysians work 40 hours a week and earn a decent income for a good life? Malaysia's Top Glove investigated by Britain?
Note, that even in China, the overtime permissible is 36 hours a month.
Just because the workers want it...is no excuse of allowing long overtime - we have to be just...and respect worker rights. Workers today really have no more a 'real choice' in the matter, do they?
NHS rubber gloves made in Malaysian factories accused of forced labour
Exclusive: firms supplying health service allegedly exploit thousands of migrants
Trafficking and exploitation in focus is supported by
 |
| Workers at Top Glove and WRP in Malaysia claim they are subjected to forced overtime, debt bondage and withheld wages. Photograph: Teh Eng Koon/AP |
The NHS
is using medical gloves made in Malaysian factories where migrants are
allegedly subjected to forced labour, forced overtime, debt bondage,
withheld wages and passport confiscation.
A Guardian investigation has revealed that at least two companies supplying rubber gloves to the NHS – Top Glove and WRP – are allegedly subjecting thousands of migrant workers from Nepal and Bangladesh to exploitative working conditions.
Top Glove – the largest rubber glove manufacturer in the world and one of the biggest employers in Malaysia, with 40 factories – and fellow manufacturer WRP both produce gloves for multiple brands supplying NHS Supply Chain, the organisation which has a 40% market share of medical goods purchased by NHS hospitals and clinics in the UK.
A Guardian investigation has revealed that at least two companies supplying rubber gloves to the NHS – Top Glove and WRP – are allegedly subjecting thousands of migrant workers from Nepal and Bangladesh to exploitative working conditions.
Top Glove – the largest rubber glove manufacturer in the world and one of the biggest employers in Malaysia, with 40 factories – and fellow manufacturer WRP both produce gloves for multiple brands supplying NHS Supply Chain, the organisation which has a 40% market share of medical goods purchased by NHS hospitals and clinics in the UK.
The Guardian interviewed 16 Top Glove workers and three from WRP.
The Top Glove workers – eight from Nepal and eight from Bangladesh – alleged that their factory was “mental torture” where they had to work seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day, with only one day off a month. Their shirts were each branded with the Top Glove logo: “Be honest and no cheating.”
All 16 alleged they had their passports involuntarily held by the company and were unable to get them back on request, while reportedly “unsafe” factory conditions at Top Glove meant limbs had been lost in accidents.
Although Top Glove declined to respond directly when asked for comment, it released a statement in which it conceded that excessive daily overtime was a problem. “Lengthy working hours are our main concern and we continue to explore every possible way to address the issue of our workers’ excessive daily OT,” the company said, adding that it was working on increasing manpower and changing shift patterns to deal with the problem.
Top Glove denied the conditions in its factories were a violation of workers’ rights. “We assure you that the allegations are entirely unfounded and such allegations tarnish our good name,” it said, emphasising that it complied with “local labour law requirements” and had won a number of human resources awards.
“Top Glove adopts a zero-tolerance policy with any regard to the abuse of human’s rights at all levels,” said the statement. “In fact our human/labour rights and health initiatives exceed those of the glove industry average.”
Speaking to the Guardian, three workers from WRP – which produces the gloves for lines stocked by NHS Supply Chain – told of excessive overtime, confiscation of passports and illegal withholding of pay.
The workers also claimed they were “trapped” and not allowed to leave the WRP factory, except on Sundays. The Guardian had to conduct interviews through the factory fence.
“It’s been three months already and we have had no pay; it is very very hard,” said one Nepalese worker at WRP, who declined to be named out of fear for his safety. “I can’t send the money back to my family who need it. They are asking me where it is.”
Speaking by text, a fourth WRP employee claimed they had run away after not receiving pay for four months. “More than a thousand workers have not got their salary,” said the worker from Nepal. “I need my salary, please help me.”
A potential client who visited the WRP factory in Malaysia, and asked not to be named, told the Guardian he had been shocked by what he had witnessed and claimed the overall working conditions were some of “the worst he had ever seen”, where factory temperatures were up to 70C for those working near ovens and more than 3,000 workers were housed in a hostel built for 1,800.
In a statement to the Guardian, the WRP chief executive, Lee Son Hong, denied the allegations as “baseless”, saying the company had “never forced any worker to work 12 hours a day without a day of rest in a week”.
“We are appalled that the issue of withholding pay and payment is made once every three months is brought up as we pay monthly wages according to the Malaysian Employment Act,” Lee added.
The Top Glove workers – eight from Nepal and eight from Bangladesh – alleged that their factory was “mental torture” where they had to work seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day, with only one day off a month. Their shirts were each branded with the Top Glove logo: “Be honest and no cheating.”
All 16 alleged they had their passports involuntarily held by the company and were unable to get them back on request, while reportedly “unsafe” factory conditions at Top Glove meant limbs had been lost in accidents.
Although Top Glove declined to respond directly when asked for comment, it released a statement in which it conceded that excessive daily overtime was a problem. “Lengthy working hours are our main concern and we continue to explore every possible way to address the issue of our workers’ excessive daily OT,” the company said, adding that it was working on increasing manpower and changing shift patterns to deal with the problem.
Top Glove denied the conditions in its factories were a violation of workers’ rights. “We assure you that the allegations are entirely unfounded and such allegations tarnish our good name,” it said, emphasising that it complied with “local labour law requirements” and had won a number of human resources awards.
“Top Glove adopts a zero-tolerance policy with any regard to the abuse of human’s rights at all levels,” said the statement. “In fact our human/labour rights and health initiatives exceed those of the glove industry average.”
Speaking to the Guardian, three workers from WRP – which produces the gloves for lines stocked by NHS Supply Chain – told of excessive overtime, confiscation of passports and illegal withholding of pay.
The workers also claimed they were “trapped” and not allowed to leave the WRP factory, except on Sundays. The Guardian had to conduct interviews through the factory fence.
“It’s been three months already and we have had no pay; it is very very hard,” said one Nepalese worker at WRP, who declined to be named out of fear for his safety. “I can’t send the money back to my family who need it. They are asking me where it is.”
Speaking by text, a fourth WRP employee claimed they had run away after not receiving pay for four months. “More than a thousand workers have not got their salary,” said the worker from Nepal. “I need my salary, please help me.”
A potential client who visited the WRP factory in Malaysia, and asked not to be named, told the Guardian he had been shocked by what he had witnessed and claimed the overall working conditions were some of “the worst he had ever seen”, where factory temperatures were up to 70C for those working near ovens and more than 3,000 workers were housed in a hostel built for 1,800.
In a statement to the Guardian, the WRP chief executive, Lee Son Hong, denied the allegations as “baseless”, saying the company had “never forced any worker to work 12 hours a day without a day of rest in a week”.
“We are appalled that the issue of withholding pay and payment is made once every three months is brought up as we pay monthly wages according to the Malaysian Employment Act,” Lee added.
Lee also denied that workers were not free to leave the factory premises, stating that workers have “absolute freedom to go anywhere as and when they like except during working hours”, and said they “do NOT” confiscate workers‘ passports, but kept them in accessible lockers. “Our workers want us to keep their passports for safekeeping,” said Lee.
The allegations suggest conditions at both Top Glove and WRP factories would meet several of the International Labour Organisation’s criteria for modern slavery and forced labour, including withheld identity documents, debt bondage and excessive overtime.
Activists accused Top Glove, which this year reported a record profit of almost £1bn, and fellow glove giant WRP of taking advantage of the desperation of migrant workers, who come to Malaysia because of the lack of work and high poverty levels in Bangladesh and Nepal.
Payslips seen by the Guardian seemed to indicate workers often worked between 120 and 160 hours’ overtime a month, exceeding the 104 hours allowed by Malaysian law.
At Top Glove, the payslips appear to show the basic salary was 4.8 ringgit (90p) per hour, with basic monthly pay of 1,000 ringgit, less than half the national median wage of 2,160 ringgit.
The payslips also seemed to show that, despite it being written into their contracts, workers only received double overtime pay for four of the 12 hours they worked on Sundays, their one rest day a week, depriving them of thousands in wages every year.
Production targets were also reported to be extremely high.
Some workers alleged they had to package 15,000 gloves in one day, while one worker claimed his daily target had increased by 400% over the past year. If they did not meet the targets, they said money was deducted from their pay.
A 22-year-old Nepalese worker on the Top Glove production line said: “When I wake up every morning I am filled with dread. I think: ‘How can I get through the next 12 hours of working? I don’t know if I can do it any more.’
“But what can we do? Lots of workers have mental breakdowns in the factory and have to pay to go back home. Top Glove factory is mental torture.”
 |
| Activists accused Top Glove of taking advantage of the desperation of migrant workers. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo |
"We can’t
say no to working on rest days or on overtime,” said one 30-year-old
Bangladeshi worker, who asked to remain unnamed out of fear of company
reprisals. “If we do, they say they will just send us back and I cannot
afford to lose this job.”
His words were echoed by a Nepalese migrant worker, who said: “I am desperate to come to the church and pray on Sundays but I cannot; they will not let me.” Top Glove did not address the question of compulsory Sunday working in its statement.
Top Glove admitted it took workers’ passports but said it was only for “safekeeping” in a locker to which workers had access. “We do not confiscate workers’ passports,” said the company in its statement. Top Glove said it had a foreign workers’ passport safekeeping policy, to which workers had agreed by signing a consent form. This was not reflected in any account given to the Guardian though one worker said that when an auditor had visited the factory, the workers had been temporarily handed locker keys and made to sign a form. The workers were not told which organisation the auditor represented.
His words were echoed by a Nepalese migrant worker, who said: “I am desperate to come to the church and pray on Sundays but I cannot; they will not let me.” Top Glove did not address the question of compulsory Sunday working in its statement.
Top Glove admitted it took workers’ passports but said it was only for “safekeeping” in a locker to which workers had access. “We do not confiscate workers’ passports,” said the company in its statement. Top Glove said it had a foreign workers’ passport safekeeping policy, to which workers had agreed by signing a consent form. This was not reflected in any account given to the Guardian though one worker said that when an auditor had visited the factory, the workers had been temporarily handed locker keys and made to sign a form. The workers were not told which organisation the auditor represented.
‘Who would we complain to?’
Workers alleged that for months, sometimes years, much of their
salary went towards paying off the debt they had incurred to come and
work for Top Glove.
All Bangladeshi migrants who spoke to the Guardian claimed they had paid 18,000-20,000 ringgit (£3,300-£3,700) in recruitment fees to get the Top Glove factory job, while Nepalese migrants claimed to have paid up to of 7,000 ringgit (£1,300) in fees to work for Top Glove in Malaysia, leaving them in high levels of debt bondage. These fees were passed down through agents back in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Top Glove denied imposing recruitment fees higher than 20% of the workers’ salary. “Top Glove only imposes recruitment fees as allowed by the local authorities, and the government of workers’ source countries,” said the statement.
Factory production lists seen by the Guardian, and brands and suppliers named by workers inside the factory, confirm that the Top Glove factories in Malaysia are producing medical and surgical gloves for companies that supply NHS Supply Chain.
An NHS Supply Chain spokesperson said: “NHS Supply Chain takes all allegations of labour abuses in its supply chain very seriously, and we have range of contractual arrangements and initiatives in place to try and prevent such situations arising.”
“We will be taking immediate steps with our suppliers to investigate the labour standards issues that you have identified and take action to responsibly address verified issues as appropriate.”
NHS Supply Chain has a code of conduct that is supposed to ensure there is no abuse in the chain, but Mahmood Bhutta, an NHS surgeon who founded the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group at the British Medical Association (BMA), said that the Guardian’s findings suggested “these processes are not working”.
All Bangladeshi migrants who spoke to the Guardian claimed they had paid 18,000-20,000 ringgit (£3,300-£3,700) in recruitment fees to get the Top Glove factory job, while Nepalese migrants claimed to have paid up to of 7,000 ringgit (£1,300) in fees to work for Top Glove in Malaysia, leaving them in high levels of debt bondage. These fees were passed down through agents back in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Top Glove denied imposing recruitment fees higher than 20% of the workers’ salary. “Top Glove only imposes recruitment fees as allowed by the local authorities, and the government of workers’ source countries,” said the statement.
Factory production lists seen by the Guardian, and brands and suppliers named by workers inside the factory, confirm that the Top Glove factories in Malaysia are producing medical and surgical gloves for companies that supply NHS Supply Chain.
An NHS Supply Chain spokesperson said: “NHS Supply Chain takes all allegations of labour abuses in its supply chain very seriously, and we have range of contractual arrangements and initiatives in place to try and prevent such situations arising.”
“We will be taking immediate steps with our suppliers to investigate the labour standards issues that you have identified and take action to responsibly address verified issues as appropriate.”
NHS Supply Chain has a code of conduct that is supposed to ensure there is no abuse in the chain, but Mahmood Bhutta, an NHS surgeon who founded the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group at the British Medical Association (BMA), said that the Guardian’s findings suggested “these processes are not working”.
The exterior of the Top Glove factory Photograph: Hannah Ellis-Petersen for the Guardian Malaysia's top glove makers exploit thousands of migrant workers, says report
Reuters reported that Britain will launch a probe into the medical gloves used by its health service after it was revealed that they could be tainted by the alleged mistreatment of workers.
Their shirts were each branded with the Top Glove logo: “Be honest and no cheating.”
The workers told the daily that the company held their passports involuntarily, while reportedly “unsafe” factory conditions at Top Glove meant limbs had been lost in accidents.
Top Glove, in a statement, denied it was violating its workers’ rights, but conceded that excessive daily overtime was a problem.
Kula clears Top Glove of worker mistreatment claims
He said only one claim in The Guardian’s exclusive report on the matter has basis, and it is being investigated by the Labour Department.
He warned that Top Glove, one of the two companies named in the UK daily’s report, will be punished if it is found to have forced employees to work more than the legally permitted 104 hours of overtime a month.
Kula Segaran denied the other claims made against Top Glove.
“The rest of the allegations are false, and we will contact The
Guardian. We will give them our official statement saying I, as a
minister, have gone down to see the employers and employees.”
On the overtime issue, he said action can be taken against the
company under Section 99 of the Employment Act 1955 if it is proven that
it had done wrong.
Top Glove worker abuse allegations ‘could be work of rivals’
ALLEGATIONS of foreign-worker abuse
against Top Glove Corp Bhd could be the work of industry rivals out to
beat the country’s rubber gloves manufacturer, Human Resources Minister
M. Kulasegaran said.
He said he was informed of “elements of slander” and did not deny the
possibility that the claims of abuse, reported in the media recently,
could be the work of third parties.
“There could be a third party at work. I was told about elements of
slander, perhaps from their competitors. The ministry also went to check
to see if such accusations were true,” Kulasegaran told The Malaysian
Insight.
British daily The Guardian reported on Monday that workers from Nepal
and Bangladesh at Top Glove and another manufacturer, WRP Asia Pacific
Sdn Bhd, were made to work excessive amount of overtime of up to 160
hours a month.
This was above the legally permitted 104 hours of overtime in a month, as stipulated under the Employment Act 1955.
Claims of being made to work excessive overtime hours were untrue, as
it was the workers themselves who wanted to put in more hours, he said.
“It is not forced exploitation. It is workers who were
willing to work more hours. I met them yesterday (Monday) and we
discussed this.”
During his visit to a Top Glove factory in Klang on Monday, he said the ministry found only one claim in The Guardian’s report to be true and it was currently being investigated by the Labour Department.
The department had also visited 22 factories owned by Top Glove and other companies.
On claims that foreign workers had their salaries withheld and
passports confiscated, Kulasegaran said the ministry’s investigations
found that workers had keys to their lockers where their passports were
kept and had admitted to a RM50 deduction from their wages for hostel
accommodation, which was permitted under the law.
Top Glove employs some 15,000 foreign workers and 4,000 locals.
The Guardian’s report was part of investigations into claims that the
supply chain for Britain’s National Health Service involved forced
labour conditions.
Top Glove shares, which dropped 5.93% on Monday after the report,
rebounded yesterday after news of Kulasegaran’s comments clearing the
manufacturer of wrongdoing. – December 12, 2018, Malaysian Insight
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