KUALA LUMPUR (April 30): The US Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) has yet to lift its withhold release order (WRO) against Top Glove Corp Bhd’s products as the authorities are still reviewing the glove manufacturer’s submission on recent clarification over the resolution of the 11 International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.
When contacted by The Edge, Top Glove reaffirmed that independent international UK consultant Impactt Ltd had verified that the group had resolved the 11 ILO indicators of forced labour.
“The US CBP is presently reviewing our submission.
“We continue to work closely with the US CBP towards the expeditious resolution and revocation of the WRO, and remain hopeful that the WRO will be lifted,” said Top Glove in an email reply to The Edge.
To recap, in late March this year, the US CBP announced that it had directed personnel at all US ports of entry to begin seizing disposable gloves produced in Malaysia by Top Glove.
The directive came after the CBP Office of Trade, in consultation with the secretary of the Treasury, published forced labour findings against disposable gloves produced by Top Glove, in which the US CBP said it had sufficient information to believe Top Glove uses forced labour in production of disposable gloves.
Subsequently, earlier this week, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Top Glove clarified that it had resolved all 11 ILO indicators of forced labour, and stated its assurance to stakeholders of its continued efforts to improve the welfare of its employees.
“Top Glove remains committed to [being] the best company that it can become, ensuring high-quality welfare, health, safety, working conditions and living accommodation of its 21,000-strong workforce,” it stressed.
According to a statement issued separately by the glove maker, the 11 ILO issues are:
- abuse of vulnerability
- retention of identity documents
- restriction of movement
- excessive overtime
- abusive working and living conditions
- deception
- isolation
- debt bondage
- withholding of wages
- physical and sexual violence, and
- intimidation
At the noon break today, shares in Top Glove settled eight sen or 1.41% lower at RM5.59, valuing the glove manufacturer at RM45.87 billion.
