Canadian Tv Shows Secret Camera Footage From Top Glove Factory

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A photo posted by CBC News taken from secret camera footage of cramped production lines, deplorable living conditions and crowded Covid-19 testing areas. (CBC photo)PETALING JAYA: Hidden camera footage from an undercover check inside a Top Glove factory has been screened on a Canadian television report which said that it showed unsafe working and poor living conditions of employees, which could be described as “appalling”.
CBC said its Marketplace programme had smuggled a camera into the factory with the help of a Top Glove employee.
The footage supports the employee’s claims of unsafe working conditions and hot, cramped living conditions. In the hostels, up to 25 people slept in one room, often on the floors. They shared a bathroom that was used for everything from bathing to cleaning vegetables, the TV station said.
It also showed that the production line, comprising mainly migrant workers, was cramped and failed to comply with Covid-19 prevention rules.
There were also videos of workers doing electrical repairs or handling chemical substances without any safety equipment on.
Soon after the videos came to light, the glove company was forced to shut down its production following a Covid-19 outbreak that resulted in more than 6,000 cases, CBC said.
The report said a video provided to CBC showed workers crowding together to get tested with little physical distancing. Workers in dormitories could be seen taking a shower next to piles of garbage.
CBC also interviewed 23 current and former migrant workers who told various stories of alleged exploitation such as situations of debt bondage, deceptive recruiting practices, passport retention, excessive overtime, abusive workplaces and deplorable living conditions.
“The company does not care (about its employees). If we complain to a higher authority, then the company will be forced to take care of us,” an employee said.
Some employees said they couldn’t leave their jobs despite the health risks. They say they have significant debt — often borrowed at the hands of unscrupulous lenders — having paid recruitment agencies massive fees to line them up for their jobs.
“I don’t have any choice, I have to work (to pay off my debt),” another worker from Bangladesh told the Marketplace programme. - FMT

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