PETALING JAYA: Top Glove today said it has committed RM100 million to building new hostels for 7,300 workers over the next three years.
In a media briefing to announce its financial results for the first quarter ending Nov 30 (1Q2021), the world’s largest glove maker said RM70 million would be spent on building “mega hostels” in Klang and Banting in Selangor while RM30 million has been earmarked for hostels in Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Kelantan and Kedah.
“This will ensure we have sufficient accommodation for our employees to meet our future expansion plans,” said executive director Lim Cheong Guan.
Top Glove’s accommodations have been in the spotlight recently after the Labour Department last week said 19 investigation papers had been opened against the company under the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).
This followed raids on workers’ hostels at the company’s subsidiaries in five states – Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Kelantan and Selangor.
Act 446 mandates employers to meet minimum space requirements for workers’ accommodation, basic facilities and safety and hygiene standards.
Top Glove today reiterated that it had been working to secure more worker accommodation and to improve existing housing for its large number of workers, for which the company has already invested RM70 million.
In addition, Top Glove said it had spent some RM20 million on purchasing 100 units of apartments over the past two months and is also renting more houses for its workers.
Managing director Lee Kim Meow said the company’s future hostels will be fully equipped with a suite of amenities and facilities such as mini markets, barbers, ATMs and money remittance companies.
Lee also said all the factories that Top Glove builds in future will have accomodation built next to it.
“We realise that if we can have it built on an integrated scale, there will be fewer complaints from local residents. This will also limit the movement of workers who live in the various hostels,” he said.
More than 5,000 of the company’s workers in Meru, Klang, have tested positive for Covid-19. This has led to fears from the area’s residents that there would be community infections despite the workers’ hostels being put under an enhanced movement control order (EMCO).
Last week, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that the second generation of infections in the Teratai cluster — linked to the Top Glove workers in Meru — had spread to the community.