Top Glove Corp. Bhd. (Top Glove) will reportedly pay its workers from Nepal and Bangladesh retribution to cover fees paid to recruitment agencies. Top Glove, the world’s largest glove manufacturer, recently distributed letters to employees stating it will pay workers from Nepal about US$1,500/ea (RM6,247) and workers from Bangladesh about US$4,800/ea (RM19,989) in backdated recruitment fees.
In Malaysia, foreign workers often have no choice but to pay high recruitment fees to foreign employment agents to secure jobs, and then work off the debt throughout the duration of their contracts.
Back in August, Top Glove said it would refund up to US$12.73 million (RM53 million) to its foreign workers in the hope that a US import ban on its medical gloves would be lifted. Top Glove made an initial payment of US$1.06 million (RM4.4 million), but the new payments are expected to add to a total of roughly US$40 million (RM166.58 million) for the company’s nearly 10,000 foreign workers, about three times more than what was first promised.