The United States will seize products made by Malaysia’s Top Glove after concluding the firm uses forced labour, officials said, dealing a fresh blow to the world’s biggest surgical glove maker.
Top Glove’s profits and stock price surged last year as countries worldwide rushed to buy protective gear during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the firm, which can produce more than 96-billion gloves a year, has been rocked by a series of scandals including a virus outbreak in dormitories that infected thousands of migrant workers.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had already banned gloves from two of Top Glove’s subsidiaries last year after saying it suspected the company was committing labour abuses.
It went a step further on Monday, announcing it had “sufficient information” to conclude that Top Glove uses forced labour. The federal agency said it would seize any gloves manufactured by the firm at US ports of entry.
“CBP will not tolerate foreign companies’ exploitation of vulnerable workers to sell cheap, unethically made goods to American consumers,” said Troy Miller, a CBP senior official.
Announcing the initial ban last year, CBP said it believed there was evidence of debt bondage, excessive overtime, and abusive working and living conditions in Top Glove’s production processes.
The company said Tuesday it was seeking to resolve the matter with US authorities.
“Top Glove understands the concerns of all our stakeholders, including CBP, to ensure that forced labour is not present in the manufacturing of gloves and personal protective equipment,” it said in a statement.
In other news – I worked for this money – Uzalo actor Thabo Mnguni (Mbatha) breathes fire as he demands SABC to pay him
Uzalo actor Thabo Mnguni is demanding royalties from repeats of the popular comedy Family Bonds.
Thabo, who plays Mbatha in Uzalo, played Bra Steve in the sitcom that aired on SABC1 between 2007 and 2009. Learn more
Source: eNCA
