Malaysian glove-maker says no forced labour after U.S. bans imports

Malaysian rubber-glove producer Top Glove on Tuesday restated its “commitment to good labour practices’’.

This is after the U.S. accused the company of forced labour and directed customs officials to seize shipments of its gloves.

Top Glove said it is currently reviewing a Monday announcement by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol that it has “sufficient information to believe that Top Glove uses forced labour’’.

U.S. customs said it had issued a “Withhold Release Order’’ requiring officials at all U.S. ports of entry to begin seizing disposable gloves produced in Malaysia by Top Glove.

Top Glove on Tuesday said there was no systemic forced labour across the 11 International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) indicators in its direct operations.

The U.S. announcement was the second in less than a year, accusing Top Glove, which described itself as the world’s largest manufacturer of gloves, of using forced labour.

Malaysian factories make around 65 per cent of the world’s rubber gloves and have faced soaring demand for medical-use versions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Most of the workers in the factories are migrants from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Myanmar.

Producers have complained that the government’s closing of the border since March last year has hindered recruitment while several factories have also faced virus outbreaks.

Malaysia on Monday reported a 17 per cent year-on-year jump in goods exports, with electronics and rubber products such as gloves key to the increase.