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View all search resultsCOVID-19 must not blind us to exploitation of workers
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T
he demands of COVID -19 are placing a strain on the workforce at the bottom of global manufacturing supply chains, often crucial to the pandemic response.
Most recently, the plight of the vulnerable workers underpinning the world’s COVID-19 response has been brought back into the public discussion after United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) imposed a detention order on products from Malaysian medical glove manufacturer Top Glove.
USCBP told ABC News that the decision was, “based upon reasonable evidence of forced labor in the manufacturing process,”.
This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the company, which was the subject of an investigation by The Guardian that revealed widespread exploitation of workers in its Malaysian factories.
The International Labor Organization (ILO), the data of which was used by USCBP to justify the import ban, estimates that 24.9 million people are forced into labor situations worldwide.
Forced labor situations like the " COVID-19 Heroes" scheme by Top Glove, which saw workers work seven days a week on a “voluntary base” under the auspices of being a "hero" in the fight against COVID-19.
The rhetoric surrounding the scheme, which was implemented to skirt labor laws, is sickening enough, the workers making the gloves and masks that protect us from spreading COVID-19 deserve better.
