TWO Malaysian rubber glove makers – including the world’s largest manufacturer – have been accused of subjecting thousands of migrant workers to exploitative working conditions, making them work up to 160 hours overtime a month, exceeding the 104 hours allowed by law.

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.

According to an exclusive report in The Guardian, these workers are allegedly subjected to forced labour, forced overtime, debt bondage, withheld wages, and passport confiscation.

The companies – world leader in rubber glove making Top Glove and WRP – supply gloves to hospitals under the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.

The report added that thousands of migrant workers from Nepal and Bangladesh are victims of workplace exploitation.

Workers who spoke to the daily said 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.”

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.

“Lengthy working hours are our main concern and we continue to explore every possible way to address the issue of our workers’ excessive daily overtime,” the company was reported as saying.

It added that it was working on increasing manpower and changing shift patterns to deal with the problem.

“We assure you that the allegations are entirely unfounded and such allegations tarnish our good name,” it further said.

Top Glove also said 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 rights at all levels.

“In fact, our human/labour rights and health initiatives exceed those of the glove industry average.”

Three workers from WRP meanwhile told The Guardian about “excessive overtime, confiscation of passports and illegal withholding of pay”.

They said they were “trapped” and not allowed to leave the WRP factory, except on Sundays.

The Guardian said it conducted interviews with them through the factory fence.

The daily also quoted an unnamed potential client who had visited the WRP factory as saying that the overall working conditions were some of “the worst he had ever seen”.

He had said the factory temperatures were up to 70°C and more than 3,000 workers were housed in a hostel built for 1,800.

WRP chief executive Lee Son Hong reportedly denied the allegations. He said his 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 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”.

He also said the company does not confiscate workers‘ passports, but keeps them in accessible lockers.

“Our workers want us to hold their passports for safekeeping,” said Lee.

David Thomas, the UK deputy high commissioner to Malaysia, told the Guardian he was aware of the allegations and was “raising them with local authorities and alerting UK supply chains”.

The Guardian reported that 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. – December 9, 2018.