In a statement today, Margma stressed that the Malaysian rubber glove industry does not condone forced labour and strives to be the “best employer” in the world.
“It is imperative that the public and global community must not misread the report that is retrospective and not punitive in nature,” said Margma president Supramaniam Shanmugam.
“In addition, the report also does not take into account the latest developments on social compliance, including remediation made to the foreign workers in recent months.
“Nevertheless, Margma takes heed of the inclusion of (rubber) gloves in this latest list.”
The DOL added Malaysian rubber gloves to this year’s “List of Goods Produced by Child Labour or Forced Labour” after claiming that the 42,500 migrant workers in the industry are frequently subject to high recruitment fees to secure employment that often keeps them in debt bondage; forced to work overtime in excess of the time allowed by Malaysian law; and work in factories where temperatures can reach dangerous levels.
“Additionally, labourers work under the threat of penalties, which include the withholding of wages, restricted movement and the withholding of their identification documents,” said DOL.
While the list contains no punitive action, the transgressions mentioned by DOL satisfy the International Labour Organization’s forced labour indicators.
Stating that the rubber glove industry abides by the various national and international rules and regulations surrounding the global industry, Supramaniam stressed that Margma’s members adhered to good manufacturing and employment practices and undergo several levels of audits around the year.
He also stated that several of the industry’s biggest players had recently committed more than RM250 million to remediate the industry’s migrant workers for recruitment fees they previously paid to agents in their home countries.
“The manufacturers must surely have passed all the required standards and regulations as required in the welfare of all workers in order to continue to operate,” said Supramaniam.
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen Malaysia’s rubber glove manufacturers enjoy record profits due to the increased demand for their products. In September, Margma revised its forecast for 2020 export revenue from RM21.8 billion to RM29.8 billion, an increase of 36.7%.
It also predicted a 9% increase in export volume to 240 billion gloves this year.
Malaysia is the world’s largest manufacturer of rubber gloves and makes up around 60% of the global market.