Minister absolves Top Glove, urges against viewing company in negative light
Plantations and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali has come out to back Top Glove as the world's largest rubber glove maker moves to address allegations of forced labour elements within its operations.
Global demand for rubber gloves continued to rise since the initial Covid-19 outbreak and Khairuddin today urged potential importers against viewing Top Glove in a negative light.
Plantations and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali has come out to back Top Glove as the world's largest rubber glove maker moves to address allegations of forced labour elements within its operations.
Global demand for rubber gloves continued to rise since the initial Covid-19 outbreak and Khairuddin today urged potential importers against viewing Top Glove in a negative light.
"Top Glove has given an assurance that all issues related to its workers have been resolved," he said, adding the issues included workers' welfare and the outstanding repayment of recruitment fees to them.
"That is Top Glove's commitment to us and we hope the world will listen and no longer have a negative view as there are many other successes by the company as a global producer of gloves during Covid-19," the Kuala Nerus MP said during a press conference at the Parliament building today.
Since May, Malaysiakini had exposed alleged attempts by Top Glove to unethically skirt around labour laws, including for its scheme launched to back surging demand for rubber gloves amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
On the outstanding repayment of recruitment fees, Khairuddin said he was informed by Top Glove that it involved an "old policy" where recruitment costs were shouldered by an old company.
"What was raised was over the company's involvement with issues related to migrant workers and the company has explained to us that all matters raised will be addressed," he said.
Top Glove previously estimated the outstanding amount to be paid at between RM20 million and RM50 million.
Its chairperson Lim Wee Chai reaffirmed that the outstanding amount would be settled soon and expressed confidence that Top Glove would once again be free to enter the US market by this month.
"Progress very well. Progress between in a month of August will settle," he said.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency had last month enforced a detention order on two of Top Glove Corp Bhd subsidiaries in a move intended to halt the importation of goods from companies suspected of using forced labour.
Since then, Human Resource Minister M Saravanan had dismissed the forced labour allegations against Top Glove as being "baseless" although labour rights group argued such elements could exist even through cramped housing for workers.
Last Wednesday, the US CBP confirmed that Top Glove Corporation had submitted information to prove it did not use forced labour, although no timeline was given on an expected lifting of the sanction.
