• Burmese
Monday, May 12, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News World

World’s Top Glove Maker Vows Clean-Up as Migrant Workers Toil in Malaysia Factories

Thomson Reuters Foundation by Thomson Reuters Foundation
December 7, 2018
in World
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
A worker inspects newly-made gloves at Top Glove factory in Klang outside Kuala Lumpur in January 2009. / REUTERS

A worker inspects newly-made gloves at Top Glove factory in Klang outside Kuala Lumpur in January 2009. / REUTERS

5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

KLANG, Malaysia—Malaysian firm Top Glove, the world’s largest glove maker, vowed on Thursday to clean up its labor supply chain and workplace practices after cases were uncovered of migrants toiling for long hours to pay off huge debts.

The firm, a major supplier of medical and rubber gloves to 195 countries including Britain and the United States, employs over 11,000 migrant workers, from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India.

At some of its factories outside the Malaysian capital, workers told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that they often work long hours to earn overtime pay, and in some cases exceed the limit of overtime hours stipulated under local labor laws.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Suspends Migrant Worker Departures to Thailand

Myanmar Junta Suspends Migrant Worker Departures to Thailand

February 14, 2025
2.5k
Singapore Urges Employers to Shun Migrants from Myanmar

Singapore Urges Employers to Shun Migrants from Myanmar

February 6, 2025
2.7k
Myanmar Migrant Workers Seek Help Over Wage Theft and Threats

Myanmar Migrant Workers Seek Help Over Wage Theft and Threats

January 21, 2025
1.5k

Workers interviewed said they hoped to quickly repay loans of at least 5,000 Malaysian ringgit ($1,200) they took out to pay recruitment agents in their home countries. They said others were charged up to 20,000 Malaysian ringgit.

Top Glove is not alone in hiring migrants who pay agents to secure a job. The practice is common across all Malaysian sectors which hire workers from overseas.

Top Glove said it was not aware of its labor suppliers charging exorbitant fees to migrant workers but vowed to investigate and severe ties with unethical recruitment agents.

“We will want to stop dealing with such suppliers if we know they are very unscrupulous. It’s our duty to do that, we will never condone it,” the company’s managing director Lee Kim Meow told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“We need workers, no doubt, but we will not stoop so low to support people who exploit workers,” he said in an interview at the company’s office in Klang, an industrial area outside the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Overtime work

High recruitment fees are a common plight faced by the nearly two million registered migrant workers in Malaysia, which relies heavily on foreign labor in industries from plantations and construction to manufacturing.

The United Nations’ International Labor Organization has said these debts could trap workers in bondage, and businesses have come under pressure in recent years to clean up their labor supply chains.

Migrant workers at Top Glove said they were paid at least 1,000 Malaysian ringgit a month, Malaysia’s minimum wage, and given access to their passport under a locker system that had been advocated by local rights groups.

But they work a lot of overtime to earn enough to pay off their debts. Workers at the factory clock 90 to 120 hours of overtime work a month, according to documents seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Under Malaysian laws, workers should be given a rest day each week and work not more than 104 hours of overtime a month.

“If I don’t work these extra hours, how could I possibly earn enough?” said a Nepali, who declined to use his name out of fear for his job.

He borrowed a $1,100 loan from a moneylender with a three percent interest rate every month to pay his agent in Nepal.

Top Glove said it has rolled out a “shift pattern change” since March across its 40 factories to ensure workers get adequate rest.

“Definitely this is an area where we will have to pay attention,” Top Glove’s deputy human resources head Loke Kean Mun said, adding that the measures are in place to “overcome all this excessive overtime.”

“This is where we definitely have to enforce and tighten up [across all factories],” he added at the interview.

World’s glove capital

Malaysia has become the world’s glove capital, and produces three out of every five pairs used in the world, according to the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association.

Top Glove, which produces 60.5 billion gloves each year, is the world’s leading glove manufacturer followed by other Malaysia-based firms like Hartalega, Kossan and Supermax.

Malaysia’s new government, which came to power in May on promises to reform—ousting a long-ruling, corruption-mired coalition—has vowed to improve conditions for migrant workers.

Without referring to any specific firms, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran told the Thomson Reuters Foundation this week that major companies in the country must take the lead to ensure there are no labor abuses.

“The big companies must take it upon themselves to be more strict in enforcing these rules,” said Kulasegaran, a veteran lawyer who grew up on a rubber estate and has championed worker’s rights prior to his appointment.

“We will prosecute if there are any wrongdoings.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Labor RightsMigrant Workers
Thomson Reuters Foundation

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Agency

Similar Picks:

Overseas Employment Suspended as Myanmar Junta Activates Military Conscription
Burma

Overseas Employment Suspended as Myanmar Junta Activates Military Conscription

by The Irrawaddy
February 15, 2024
14.7k

Labor Ministry is apparently seeking to slam exit door on 14 million young people eligible for compulsory military service.

Read moreDetails
Cash-Starved Junta Milks Myanmar Migrant Workers With New Remittance Rule
Burma

Cash-Starved Junta Milks Myanmar Migrant Workers With New Remittance Rule

by The Irrawaddy
September 12, 2023
11.3k

Those who refuse to remit at least 25% of their earnings at regime exchange rate will be barred from working...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home
Burma

Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 30, 2023
9.9k

After fleeing Laukkai Town to save their lives, thousands of IDPs are now sleeping on roads outside Lashio as junta...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Demands Expats Pay Tax Before Renewing Passports
Burma

Myanmar Junta Demands Expats Pay Tax Before Renewing Passports

by The Irrawaddy
October 19, 2023
8.7k

Migrants will be required to pay at least 10 percent of their foreign income to the regime, which is facing...

Read moreDetails
Cash-Strapped Myanmar Junta Doubles Down on Foreign Remittances
Burma

Cash-Strapped Myanmar Junta Doubles Down on Foreign Remittances

by The Irrawaddy
November 5, 2024
7.5k

A new high-level military committee is tasked with leaning on migrant workers to send a portion of their earnings home...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Steps Up Grab for Foreign Earnings
Burma

Myanmar Junta Steps Up Grab for Foreign Earnings

by The Irrawaddy
December 12, 2024
7k

The cash-strapped regime is tightening the thumb screws on labor agencies to force migrant workers to send at least 25...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Meng Wanzhou, executive board director of Huawei, attends a session of the VTB Capital Investment Forum "Russia Calling!" in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 2, 2014. / Reuters

White House, Trudeau Seek to Distance Themselves From Huawei Move

U Soe Tun Shein at a press conference held by his company in Naypyitaw on February 22, 2018. / Moe Moe / The Irrawaddy

New Criminal Case Opened Against Rogue Businessman

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Fury Over China’s Support for Myanmar Junta Eclipses Quake Aid Gratitude 

Fury Over China’s Support for Myanmar Junta Eclipses Quake Aid Gratitude 

5 days ago
1.2k
Inside the Myanmar Junta’s Post-Earthquake Theater of Control

Inside the Myanmar Junta’s Post-Earthquake Theater of Control

5 days ago
956

Most Read

  • Heavy Casualties as Myanmar Junta Pushes to Reclaim Mandalay Gold Hub  

    Heavy Casualties as Myanmar Junta Pushes to Reclaim Mandalay Gold Hub  

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A Troubling Message from China’s Ambassador to Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Meets China’s Xi for First Time: State Media

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KNU Hails Seizure of Myanmar Junta Base on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta ‘Seizes Eight TNLA Positions’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.