US bars Malaysian glove maker Supermax over alleged labour abuses
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KUALA LUMPUR • The United States has barred imports from Malaysian glove maker Supermax over alleged forced labour practices at the company, the fourth Malaysian firm to face such a ban in the past 15 months.
Malaysian factories - makers of everything from palm oil to iPhone components - have increasingly come under scrutiny over allegations of abuse of foreign workers.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order that prohibits imports from Supermax based on reasonable information indicating use of forced labour in the firm's manufacturing operations, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
"With 10 of the 11 forced labour indicators identified during the course of our investigation, CBP has ample evidence to conclude that Supermax and its subsidiaries produce gloves in violation of US trade law," said Ms AnnMarie Highsmith, executive assistant commissioner at the CBP Office of Trade.
The CBP was referring to forced labour indicators identified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that include excessive hours, debt bondage, physical and sexual violence, abusive working and living conditions. It did not say which indicators applied to Supermax.
Supermax said it was in contact with the CBP to obtain more clarity and that it will speed up a process it had begun in 2019 to meet ILO standards. "Supermax is surprised that due consideration has not been given to the fact that corrective steps have started and improvements made to labour welfare," it said in a statement.
The firm said the US accounts for about 20 per cent of its total sales and it will now divert its products to other markets. Most migrant workers in Malaysia come from Bangladesh and Nepal.
Labour rights activist Andy Hall, who filed the petition to the CBP to investigate Supermax, said his interviews with the firm's workers showed they lived and worked in "appalling conditions", paid high recruitment fees and faced unlawful wage deductions.
Supermax's bigger Malaysian rival Top Glove was barred by the CBP over similar allegations, but the ban was lifted last month after it resolved the issues.
REUTERS