27 December 2020

The Labour Department says it will open 30 investigation papers over glove manufacturer Brightway Holdings’ failure to comply with various housing standards under a newly-enforced law.

The human resources ministry said the decision to open the investigation papers came after raids on two of the company’s subsidiaries over the past week, with minister M Saravanan describing the squalid conditions for foreign workers as “modern day slavery”.
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Located in Kajang, La Glove (M) Sdn Bhd was raided on Monday, with the Labour Department finding 781 workers living in two blocks of shipping containers stacked three storeys high.

On Thursday, the department conducted another multi-agency operation on another of Brightway’s subsidiaries, Biopro (M) Sdn Bhd in Port Klang, where they found workers staying in two warehouses.

Like the containers in La Glove, the Biopro warehouses were illegally converted into accommodations for foreign workers.
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Brightway Holdings serves as the corporate and administrative centre of Brightway Group, with La Glove and Biopro its main production facilities, according to Brightway Group’s website.
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Among the group’s biggest importers include American personal care giant Kimberly-Clark and Australian safety and personal protection firm Ansell, both of which have told FMT they are re-evaluating their relationship with the firm in light of the latest developments.