Top Glove: We’re taking proactive safety measures

PETALING JAYA: In spite of the high number of Covid-19 cases among its employees, Top Glove Corporation Bhd believes the enhanced movement control order imposed on its factories will only run for two to three weeks.

“Past records have shown that other factories or large premises, such as shopping malls, typically observed the enhanced MCO for one to two weeks, ” said company executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai.

“To date, about 7,000 Top Glove employees have been tested for Covid-19, including both foreign and local employees.

“From this figure, an estimated 3,000 employees have tested positive, ” he said during a virtual press briefing yesterday.

Top Glove has a workforce of about 21,000 employees, of whom 11,000 are foreign workers.

Lim added that over the past three to four months, the group had been working to rectify the issue of overcrowded living conditions for its foreign workers.

This followed the order by the US Customs And Border Protection (CBP) in July this year.

“We have invested in many more apartments by buying and renting, as well as moving the workers away from their overcrowded apartments.

“We are also adhering to Malaysia’s new housing rules for workers, ” he said.

On concerns over the safety of Top Glove’s products, Lim said the group’s existing glove stocks were not contaminated by Covid-19 due to the high temperature during production.

“Our workers do not have any direct contact with the gloves as all production lines are automated.

“The virus will not be able to survive in the high oven temperatures.

“In addition, when the gloves are shipped, it takes an average of one month for them to arrive at their destinations and the shipping containers have an estimated temperature of 40°C, ” Lim explained.

Due to the enhanced MCO, some deliveries from Top Glove’s facilities in Klang, Selangor, will be delayed by two to four weeks.

The group’s 28 facilities representing 50% of overall production capacity, are affected by the

two-week enhanced MCO that began on Nov 17.

Top Glove has since informed its customers about the delay in delivery and said it would prioritise deliveries for customers that carry out essential services.

At present, there had been no order cancellations by Top Glove’s customers, said Lim.