Minister confirms raid info leaked to glove factory owner

 

Human Resource Minister M Saravanan has confirmed that information surrounding a multi-agency raid at a glove factory in Klang on Thursday was leaked to the factory owner.

Speaking to reporters today, Saravanan said this led to the raiding team's discovery of poor living conditions, but there were no workers left at the factory's premises.

"Although we received solid evidence that the workers' dormitories were not in compliance with Act 446 (Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990), and so we organised a raid, that information was leaked.

"Before we arrived at the factory, the employer moved the workers out from their cramped rooms to a nearby hotel, in order to evade authorities," Saravanan was quoted as saying by online portal Malaysia Gazette.

Sources previously claimed that the factory management had been tipped off about the raid by "government insiders", leading to an overnight clean-up of the workers' dormitories.

However, a spokesperson for the company denied this, saying instead while there was room for improvement with the dormitories, the workers did not complain.

Klang District health officer Ili Syazwani Mohd Mashudi had said the health office found several violations including a lack of regular sanitisation and flouting of social distancing.

Human Resources Ministry deputy director-general (operations) Mohd Asri Abdul Sahab, meanwhile, said that some of the living arrangements, such as triple-decker beds, could be dangerous to workers.

Saravanan further warned the company to stop such tactics.

"We are closely monitoring the factory... I want to see how much longer they can hide the workers from us.

"The company is still operating, we will act at the right time, soon," he added.

The factory has so far escaped shutdown and was instead fined RM1,000 by the Selangor Health Department for failing to comply with Covid-19 preventive measures.

The company based in Klang, together with another glove company in Kajang that was raided on Monday, are subsidiaries of Brightway Holdings Sdn Bhd.

The number of Covid-19 positive cases in Klang had recorded a spike after the discovery of new clusters linked to foreign worker accommodations, starting with the Top Glove factory dormitories.  - Mkini