KUALA LUMPUR 16 July - United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had placed the detention order on gloves-manufacturing subsidiaries by Top Glove Corporation Berhad as the company confirmed today.
The detention order was placed on Top Glove Sdn. Bhd. and TG Medical Sdn Bhd.
Top Glove revealed the order may be related to foreign labour issues, which have already been resolved.
The group is now reaching out to the CBP through the glove producer's office in the US besides the company's customers and consultants.
The measure is to understand the issue better apart from reaching speedy resolution within an estimated two weeks.
“Save for one more issue with regard to retrospective payment of recruitment fees by our workers to agents prior to January 2019, without our knowledge. However, Top Glove has already been bearing all recruitment fees since January 2019 when our zero recruitment fee policy was implemented.
"Over the past few months, we have been working on this issue which involves extensive tracing, to establish the correct amount to be paid back to our workers, on behalf of the previous agents. We estimate the total amount to be about RM20 million to RM50 million,” said the company in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.
The company will provide more information should there be updates regarding that matter.
In a different statement by Top Glove, the company’s trade on Bursa has been halted between 2:30pm and 3:30pm today in conjunction with the announcement.
"Accordingly, trading in structured warrants relating to TOPGLOV has also been halted at the same time," it said.
In Top Glove’s virtual press conference this evening, its Managing Director, Datuk Lim Kim Meow clarified there are two areas factoring to the detention order namely the recruitment fee and the passport retention.
He said, the passport retention issue however has been resolved for almost last two years while the firm is actively looking into the recruitment fee issue by paying reimbursement for the period of one year and a half.
“We are now looking into it actively, address it and do the calculation as well as talk to the consultant,” said him.
Top Glove’s Executive Chairman, Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai expected the reimbursement would amount in a range of RM20 million to RM50 million.
Recently, the same situation faced by glove maker company, WRP Asia Pacific, but Top Glove asserted their issues are distinct.
“WRP cases have to do with non-payment wages to workers leading to the intervention of CBP. With favourable image, we use US customers to be the witness, testimonial; I believe it could be enough evidence and present concrete proposals to CBP.
“Good thing it happens during COVID-19 and with this, we want to settle one for all and move forward,” Kim Meow added.
US contributes up 12.5% to both Top Glove’s subsidiaries’s total sales. - DagangNews.com
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