Top Glove's rising COVID-19 cases: Why it matters
Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
November 24, 2020 08:40 MYT
November 24, 2020 08:40 MYT
The government announced that Top Glove worker dormitories have been placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) from Nov 17 to Nov 30. - Astro AWANI/ Shahir Omar
What’s going on?
- A record-breaking number of 1,884 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Monday with more than half (1,067) belonging to the cluster of cases originating from Top Glove’s factories.
- The government announced that Top Glove worker dormitories have been placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) from Nov 17 to Nov 30 after 215 people were found to have tested positive for the virus.
- As of yesterday, the Health Ministry has screened 5,794 individuals, from which 1,889 tested positive.
What happened after?
- The government has ordered 28 of its factories to be closed in stages after the sharp surge of COVID-19 cases.
- Top Glove in a statement yesterday said that they will fully cooperate with the authorities to carry out temporary stoppage in stages at its manufacturing facilities in Meru, Klang.
- Since November 18, the company has temporarily stopped production in 16 facilities in the area while 12 facilities are operating at reduced capacities. 5,700 workers at their hostels were also screened.
- Following the incident, Top Glove’s shares has also dropped sharply with share price dipping 48 cent to RM6.87 with 40.65 million shares traded as at 10.30 am today.
Top Glove has benefitted in being the world largest rubber glove-maker’s factories during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for medical gloves exponentially increases.
The Edge Markets has reported that Top Glove commands a 26 per cent share of the global market, with a production capacity of 80.2 billion pieces per annum.
With the closure of several its factories, analysts are saying they might lead to a temporary shortage of gloves globally as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
The news has also caught the attention of many who highlighted the negligence of the company in protecting its workers against the virus.
Former Youth and Sports Minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, has also called for the company to pay Windfall tax for its failure to protect its workers and its "supernormal profits" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the past months, Top Glove has been caught violating several labour practices.
On July 13, Human Resources Ministry carried out a raid at Top Glove's headquarters in Meru, Klang, and found that Movement Control Order (MCO)rules were breached, and foreign staff were provided with cramped quarters.
While the glove maker was cleared of forced labour offence, the company was compounded by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and was issued a compliance notice by the Ministry Housing and Local Government.
In a June report by United Kingdom’s Channel 4, the company has been accused of making illegal deductions from workers’ salaries and placing workers in appalling conditions in hostels with barely any protection measures.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has also placed a detention order on disposable gloves manufactured by two of its subsidiaries, Top Glove Sdn Bhd and TG Medical Sdn Bhd, on July 16 for issues relating to abuse of foreign labour.