He said with the United States blocking imported goods from Malaysia suspected to have been made through forced labour, it could spell the death knell for Malaysia’s aspirations to get more US companies to move here as a result of the trade war.

“The US ban on rubber gloves (from a local company) should not come as a surprise to those in the HR ministry as numerous complaints have been made in the past about the presence of ‘sweatshops’ in the rubber glove industry.

“I believe that the US might even consider banning other products produced under terrible or inhumane labour conditions.

“With more US companies planning to relocate in Malaysia as result of the trade war with China, the ministry should get its act together,” he said in a statement today.

Ramasamy said for starters, the HR ministry must adapt to international labour standards to improve the position of workers and their rights.

He said there had been too much focus on improving the quality of production. But production will improve if the workers are given better rights and freedom, he added.

Ramasamy said the current laws ensure very little freedom for workers and appeared to be skewed in favour of businesses.

He said, ideally, the HR ministry should play a neutral role, serving both employees and employers.

Ramasamy said what was making things worse were the workers’ unions in the country, which were so weak after being “battered” by the government that they are unable to flex their muscles in improving the minimum wage.

“Improvements to labour conditions cannot be reduced to just a humanitarian measure on the part of the government and employers.

“The days of ad hoc measures for the human resources ministry are over.

“The relationship between workers and employers must be reviewed if we want to move up the production hierarchy in the world.”