"UPDATE 1-Malaysian glove maker denies its workers are living in shipping containers", 21 December 2020

A Malaysian glove maker has denied hundreds of its workers are living in metal shipping containers in squalid conditions that the country’s human resources minister described as modern slavery.

Ministry officials on Monday conducted a raid on a glove-making factory in Kajang district, just outside Kuala Lumpur, where they found workers living in cramped, dirty shipping containers stacked behind the premises...

...A ministry spokeswoman confirmed the reports to Reuters, adding that 781 workers were employed at the factory, most of whom were migrants...

...Brightway Holdings Sdn Bhd confirmed the raid had taken place early on Monday at its subsidiary LA Glove, but denied its workers were living in containers and said it had fewer workers than the number given by the spokeswoman...

...Health authorities have ordered the factory to close for seven days, citing conditions that could cause the spread of infectious diseases.

Brightway said this was due to workers not wearing face masks correctly and social distancing requirements not being followed. It said it would take steps to rectify the situation in order to revoke the closure order...