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The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) is collaborating with members Panasonic and Sony, other sourcing companies, a coalition of impacted workers and their representatives, and other stakeholders, to realize reimbursement to workers who paid recruitment fees for jobs at Kawaguchi Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd., a Malaysian supplier. The reimbursement process is ongoing, and the amount of fees anticipated to be repaid to impacted Kawaguchi workers is approximately 1.1 million USD.

The serious situation adversely impacting workers who paid recruitment fees for jobs at Kawaguchi runs counter to expectations sourcing companies have for their suppliers, to international norms, and to the RBA Code of Conduct. Panasonic and Sony determined that continuing business with Kawaguchi was not feasible due to the high severity of risk to workers, limited trust in Kawaguchi’s own commercial standing, and its ability to meet commitments that would meaningfully mitigate existing or prevent future risks of forced labor.

A settlement was reached last month between Kawaguchi and the Malaysian Labor Department for Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM) to reimburse workers for outstanding salary payments, airfare of workers wishing to return home and any pending immigration fines. However, our understanding is that settlement does not include the repayment of recruitment fees the workers indicated to have paid.

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