CANADA is the latest country, after the United States, to investigate alleged forced labour in Malaysia, according to Reuters.

The news agency said government department Employment and Social Development Canada, in an email yesterday, was looking into the labour practices in Malaysia’s palm oil and glove manufacturing industries.

The department was “actively researching a number of forced labour allegations in different countries and sectors, including palm oil and glove manufacturing in Malaysia”.

However, it declined to provide further details or name specific companies in the spotlight.

Malaysian companies, which includes some of the world’s biggest palm oil and rubber glove producers, have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years over reports of labour abuses.

The United States has banned imports from three companies – including Top Glove Corp Bhd, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd and FGV Holdings Bhd – on suspicion of using forced labour.

US Customs and Border Protection has said it found evidence of forced labour indicators such as excessive hours, abusive living and working conditions, debt bondage, intimidation, physical and sexual violence, and retention of identity documents at these companies. – May 29, 2021.