THE Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (Margma) said gloves produced by only one Malaysian company have been banned by the United States (US) Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and not Malaysian rubber gloves as a whole.

Margma said CBP blocked the importation of disposable rubber gloves from WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd as it believed the company was involved in forced labour.

The association said its members took the welfare of workers seriously and the industry has been working on social compliance initiatives to improve the well-being of employees.

“Margma has engaged and updated the US embassy and Department of Labour during their visit as part of our efforts in implementing social compliance standards in the Malaysian rubber glove industry.

“Margma is taking social compliance very seriously to ensure that shipments of gloves to the US and the world are in total compliance, and many US companies conduct periodic audits on the manufacturers to ensure their compliance,” it said.

Yesterday, the CBP announced that it had issued withhold release orders on five products imported from five countries that were suspected of using forced labour.

Meanwhile, a source said WRP Asia Pacific only found out about the issue at 1am this morning and the company is currently working with its lawyer in the US to resolve the matter. – Bernama, October 2, 2019.