RUBBER gloves made in Malaysia are among the goods barred from import in the United States, following a crackdown on forced labour on foreign soil, Reuters reports.

Items suspected of being the fruit of slave labour from five countries were seized by the US Customs and Border Protection this week, the report said.

These included Chinese-made apparel, gold mined in DR Congo, and diamonds from Zimbabwe.

US law prohibits the import of goods that are made entirely or in part by forced labour which includes prison work, bonded labour and child labour.

“CBP’s issuing of these five withhold release orders shows that if we suspect a product is made using forced labour, we’ll take that product off US shelves,” acting CBP commissioner Mark Morgan.
said in a statement. 

The exporter slapped with a withhold release order can either reroute the shipment and sell its products elsewhere or try to persuade CBP to change its mind by providing proof the goods were not manufactured in conditions that were slave-like.

Malaysia is the world’s glove capital, producing three out of every five pairs of gloves used on the planet, exporting to countries like Britain and the United States, according to industry data.

Glove makers in Malaysia, the world’s glove capital which produces three of every five pairs of gloves used around the globe, were last year accused of similar exploitation charges by the UK. 

The Guardian had reported that thousands of migrant workers were forced to work up to 160 hours overtime a month, exceeding the 104 hours allowed by law.

The workers also made claims of debt bondage and unsafe working conditions, and that their wages and passports were withheld. 

These claims were strenuously denied by the employer, which said the allegations were entirely unfounded.

It said in a statement in response to the UK report that its complied with local labour law requirements and had won a number of human resources awards, to boot.

It conceded, however, 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,” it said. – October 2, 2019.