Top Glove chairman addresses forced labour allegations
Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of latex gloves, is currently weathering a critical challenge. In late March 2021, the US Customs and Border Protection ordered the seizure of all Top Glove products in the United States, accusing the company of using forced labour and exploiting its workers.
Top Glove’s stock tumbled by five per cent at the news and spurred a probe by the Malaysian government.
In a recent internal letter to employees and shareholders, executive chairman Lim Wee Chai acknowledged the company’s shortcomings regarding employee welfare. He has personally promised to review and correct its labour practices.
“Ultimately… it is my responsibility to ensure we put right the wrongs that have been highlighted in recent months,” he wrote.
Read the internal letter in full below:
A Letter from Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai to
Employees, Shareholders and Stakeholders
The past several months have been some of the most challenging for Top Glove Corporation Bhd. It was highlighted that Top Glove needs to continuously improve and keep taking immediate corrective actions in areas of social compliance to meet the expectations of our stakeholders.
Our business was built for the purpose of helping people. It is with this vision that we built this company brick by brick, and step by step ensuring quality, integrity and transparency stood at the forefront of our brand. We have worked hard to always deliver high quality gloves at low cost, which has helped us become the largest glove maker in the world.
Top Glove would not have been able to develop these core strengths if we did not place our employees first. I have always believed that our employees are Top Glove’s most important asset, which we must always provide for and support. I have always said that the employees of Top Glove are the children of the company. While the company has strived to uphold the welfare of our employees, we must acknowledge that Top Glove still has several areas to improve, meet and exceed international best practices. This is a fundamental need not only for Top Glove but for every business.
Ultimately, as the Executive Chairman and Founder of Top Glove it is my responsibility to ensure we put right the wrongs that have been highlighted in recent months. I have been personally chairing daily meetings in correcting short falls relating to workers’ welfare for the last nine months. As I write this letter, we are continuing to make further improvements. We owe it to our employees, shareholders, customers and government stakeholders to return to the fundamentals of what made us successful from the start, and that is delivering quality in every aspect of our work for all of our stakeholders.
Top Glove’s Board of Directors have unequivocally demanded the highest of standards of accountability and leadership from the Board members, the company and the management team. Financial performance alone is not the sole marker of success for companies. We must deliver strong performance on all fronts. We cannot place blame on others when things go wrong in areas of our business. We have taken ownership of where we have fallen short on employee welfare and will ensure this is set right soon to the standards expected of us.
I have endless pride in the 21,000 employees of Top Glove and would like to thank everyone for delivering their very best every day they come to work. To our shareholders, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your support and trust in our brand. To the Government of Malaysia, I extend my deepest appreciation for providing an environment where Top Glove can build a strong business not just locally in Malaysia, but also around the world.
This business has been built to weather difficult periods while we continue to improve our company. I am confident that we will continue to live up to the highest of standards with compassion and humility that our stakeholders expect from us.
Thank you.
Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai
Executive Chairman
Top Glove Corporation Bhd.
Top Glove's headquarters in Shah Alam, Malaysia Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of latex gloves, is currently weathering a critical challenge. In late March 2021, the US Customs and Border Protection ordered the seizure of all Top Glove products in the United States, accusing the company of using forced labour and exploiting its workers. Top Glove’s stock tumbled by five per cent at the news and spurred a probe by the Malaysian government. In a recent internal letter to employees and shareholders, executive chairman Lim Wee Chai acknowledged the company’s shortcomings regarding employee welfare. He has personally promised to...
Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of latex gloves, is currently weathering a critical challenge. In late March 2021, the US Customs and Border Protection ordered the seizure of all Top Glove products in the United States, accusing the company of using forced labour and exploiting its workers.
Top Glove’s stock tumbled by five per cent at the news and spurred a probe by the Malaysian government.
In a recent internal letter to employees and shareholders, executive chairman Lim Wee Chai acknowledged the company’s shortcomings regarding employee welfare. He has personally promised to review and correct its labour practices.
“Ultimately… it is my responsibility to ensure we put right the wrongs that have been highlighted in recent months,” he wrote.
Read the internal letter in full below:
A Letter from Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai to
Employees, Shareholders and Stakeholders
The past several months have been some of the most challenging for Top Glove Corporation Bhd. It was highlighted that Top Glove needs to continuously improve and keep taking immediate corrective actions in areas of social compliance to meet the expectations of our stakeholders.
Our business was built for the purpose of helping people. It is with this vision that we built this company brick by brick, and step by step ensuring quality, integrity and transparency stood at the forefront of our brand. We have worked hard to always deliver high quality gloves at low cost, which has helped us become the largest glove maker in the world.
Top Glove would not have been able to develop these core strengths if we did not place our employees first. I have always believed that our employees are Top Glove’s most important asset, which we must always provide for and support. I have always said that the employees of Top Glove are the children of the company. While the company has strived to uphold the welfare of our employees, we must acknowledge that Top Glove still has several areas to improve, meet and exceed international best practices. This is a fundamental need not only for Top Glove but for every business.
Ultimately, as the Executive Chairman and Founder of Top Glove it is my responsibility to ensure we put right the wrongs that have been highlighted in recent months. I have been personally chairing daily meetings in correcting short falls relating to workers’ welfare for the last nine months. As I write this letter, we are continuing to make further improvements. We owe it to our employees, shareholders, customers and government stakeholders to return to the fundamentals of what made us successful from the start, and that is delivering quality in every aspect of our work for all of our stakeholders.
Top Glove’s Board of Directors have unequivocally demanded the highest of standards of accountability and leadership from the Board members, the company and the management team. Financial performance alone is not the sole marker of success for companies. We must deliver strong performance on all fronts. We cannot place blame on others when things go wrong in areas of our business. We have taken ownership of where we have fallen short on employee welfare and will ensure this is set right soon to the standards expected of us.
I have endless pride in the 21,000 employees of Top Glove and would like to thank everyone for delivering their very best every day they come to work. To our shareholders, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your support and trust in our brand. To the Government of Malaysia, I extend my deepest appreciation for providing an environment where Top Glove can build a strong business not just locally in Malaysia, but also around the world.
This business has been built to weather difficult periods while we continue to improve our company. I am confident that we will continue to live up to the highest of standards with compassion and humility that our stakeholders expect from us.
Thank you.
Tan Sri Dr. Lim Wee Chai
Executive Chairman
Top Glove Corporation Bhd.
