KUALA LUMPUR: Ansell Ltd has halted its orders to North America from Malaysian glove maker Brightway Group after U.S. Customs banned the Malaysian group’s merchandise following allegations of pressured labour practices, Ansell stated.
Australia’s Ansell, a safety and security merchandise producer, advised Reuters in an e mail it has suspended the North America orders, because of a ban imposed on Dec. 20. by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), till Brightway has resolved the labour points.
Malaysian information portal Free Malaysia Today first reported the halt and stated U.S.-based private care merchandise maker Kimberly-Clark Corp has additionally acted to make sure compliance with the CBP’s ban. The report didn’t say what motion Kimberly-Clark took.
Neither Kimberly-Clark nor Brightway instantly responded to Reuters requests for remark.
CBP stated it recognized indicators of pressured labour throughout its investigation into Brightway, which is the seventh Malaysian firm to face a ban within the final two years.
“At this stage, we aren’t conscious of the precise proof U.S. CBP has of labour rights violations at Brightway and now we have not prolonged this suspension outdoors Northern America,” Ansell stated.
Ansell stated, nevertheless, it was conscious of non-compliance on the Brightway services by way of its third-party audits and continues to work carefully with the glove maker on remediation plans.
Ansell most popular to work with suppliers to make sure continued employment and improved situations for employees, “than reactively cancelling provider contracts in response to particular occasions or allegations,” the corporate stated.
It stated it is going to carefully monitor the scenario. – Reuters
