A Malaysian company that makes disposable gloves used around the world for protection against the coronavirus has been hit by a major outbreak among its workers, many of them foreign laborers who live in crowded dormitories.
The outbreak at 28 factories operated by the company, Top Glove Corporation, has infected more than 2,400 workers this month and driven one of Malaysia’s biggest spikes in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. Until now, Malaysia has been relatively successful in containing the virus, reporting 59,817 total cases and 345 deaths as of Wednesday. But the country of 32.5 million people reported a new daily high of 2,188 cases on Tuesday, topping the previous record of 1,884 set a day earlier. Top Glove said Wednesday that it had stopped work at 20 factories in the hope of stemming the outbreak. The company makes disposable gloves and face masks, and has ramped up production because of the pandemic. The United States and Europe are among its biggest customers. Most of Top Glove’s workers come from developing countries in Asia — including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal — and live and work in crowded conditions where the virus can easily spread. Malaysia’s minister of human resources, M. Saravanan, toured workers’ quarters days ago and said that the living conditions were “terrible,” according to The Star ( https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/11/25/nothing-spared-in-glove-factory-probe ) , a Malaysian newspaper. “We have started investigations and will spare no one if they were found to have flouted labor laws,” he told The Star. Andy Hall, a labor activist who has long criticized Top Glove, said its workers live in unsanitary and overcrowded dormitories, sometimes packed more than 30 to a room. “It was obvious it would happen,” Mr. Hall said. “This company has never focused on the welfare of its staff.” Company officials defended the company’s treatment of workers and rejected assertions that the quarters were crowded and unsanitary. They said they were surprised by Mr. Saravanan’s comments and said that conditions in the dormitories have improved since his visit. Top Glove officials said the company had been upgrading the dormitories since the United States sanctioned the company in July, citing evidence that it had engaged in forced labor practices, and banned the import of some of its products ( https://www.reuters.com/article/us-top-glove-usa/amid-virus-crisis-us-bars-imports-of-malaysias-top-glove-over-labor-issues-idUSKCN24H0K2 ). In response, Top Glove also has begun paying restitution to affected workers. Top Glove hopes that the outbreak will be under control in two to four weeks. The company sought to assure its customers that the gloves it produced were not contaminated with the coronavirus. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#3887): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/3887 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/78500633/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
