KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Top Glove Corporation Bhd is working towards rectifying the remaining five International Labour Organisation's (ILO) indicators as pointed out by the United States (US) Customs and Border Protection (CBP), managing director Datuk Lee Kim Meow said.
He said the company had an engagement with the CBP last week and informed the latter that it has been complying with the CBP’s direction and aimed to convert at least one of the ‘Bs’ into ‘A’.
Top Glove will complete the outstanding tasks after which it will get an independent consultant for verification and had targeted to expedite this within a month, he added.
There are 11 significant indicators that the rubber glove producer is required to improve, and to-date, it has achieved six As and 5Bs.
The As are abuse of vulnerability, restriction of movement, excessive overtime, abusive working and living conditions, isolation, and withholding of wages.
Meanwhile, the Bs are retention of identity documents, deception, debt bondage, physical, sexual, and violence, and intimidation.
“We think that these are important criteria that the US CBP wanted us to rectify and we are working hard to improve them so that they can quickly lift the ban on Top Glove,” he said during a zoom webinar to update on the Glove Market, Workers’ Hostel Improvement, and US CBP Withhold Release Order ( WRO) status.
On March 29, the CBP announced that it was directing its personnel at all US ports of entry to begin seizing disposable gloves produced in Malaysia by Top Glove.
The decision came after the CBP Office of Trade, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, published a forced labour finding against disposable gloves produced by the company.
— Bernama
