Foreign Worker Recruitment Freeze Affects Glove Manufacturer

The global pandemic is still a major problem around the world and the demand for rubber gloves has increased. But the world's largest glove company, Top Glove, are currently short of workers. Putrajaya recently announced it was suspending the intake of new foreign workers until the end of 2020 while encouraging companies to hire more local workers.

However, Top Glove chairman, Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai, stated that it is unrealistic to expect only locals to fill the open positions and it would reduce Malaysia's competitiveness. He said the company had hired 2,500 local employees in 2019, which form part of the company's global workforce of 19,000.

Despite their recruitment efforts, the current workforce was not enough to meet the demand for gloves, which has risen dramatically because of the global pandemic.

“Before Covid-19, we were running (at) about 80 to 85 per cent capacity. Now we are running more than 100 per cent. Though we add in new capacity, we are still not able to cope with the demand; the demand is just too strong,” he said.

The global demand for gloves has increased since the outbreak of the pandemic.

“So we hope the government will open up (the recruitment process) so that we can reduce the shortage of workers. So hopefully, by Sept 1, after the MCO is over.”

According to top Glove, the lead time to fulfil orders for gloves was now more than a year. This means that if someone ordered gloves today, it would take over a year before the shipment arrives at its destination. Before the pandemic, the lead time was between 10 to 60 days.

Andy Hall, an independent British migrant worker and labour rights activist, was not surprised that Top Glove was urging the government to allow more foreign workers in.

“It’s hard work in a hot and sticky environment, so not many locals want to work there. Locals come for a short while and leave. (Foreign workers) are willing to work harder for less money and it’s not a good thing. If they want more workers, great; but give more incentives and protections,” he said.

Top Glove has been investing billions of ringgit in automation to solve the shortage of foreign workers. This expansion is expected to add 42 production lines to its present 700 by the end of the year. But, it is unlikely to be sufficient to speed up the delivery time to their customers for now.

Top Glove rubber, latex and nitrile gloves are used in the healthcare, food and beverage, and sanitisation industries. The company also manufactures face masks, condoms, exercise bands, toothpaste and other healthcare or health-oriented products.

Due to increased demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), which includes gloves, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company reported a profit of RM575 million by May.

Source: Malay Mail

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