Top Glove makes “good progress” in US detention order case

Shah Alam, Malaysia – Top Glove has submitted an independent audit report to the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) as part of an effort to resolve a detention order placed by the agency on its products. 

In a 7 September filing with the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE), the Malaysian gloves manufacturer said it was ‘actively engaging’ with CBP towards resolving a migrant labour issue which prompted the border agency’s withhold order. 

The audit, according to Top Glove, entails virtual interviews of about 1,100 of migrant workers across various locations and addresses the relevant areas of concern identified by the CBP. 

On 15 July, the CBP placed a detention order on disposable gloves manufactured by two Top Glove subsidiaries for the suspected mishandling of migrant workforce.

At the time, Top Glove said the issue specifically involved recruitment fees paid by foreign workers to employment agents.

But the gloves maker maintained that it had been bearing all recruitment fees since the adoption of ‘zero-cost recruitment’ policy since the beginning of 2019.

To address the outstanding issues, Top Glove said in early August that it was making a RM4.4 million (€890,000) remediation payment to migrant workers who joined the company prior to the implementation of the zero-cost recruitment policy.