KUALA LUMPUR – Top Glove allegedly invaded the privacy of Yubaraj Khadka, the Nepali worker who was fired in September for sharing photographs of crowding in one of the company’s factories.
Yubaraj, identified as a whistle-blower, told Malaysiakini that the glove manufacturer confiscated his phone, held on to it from 10am to 9pm, and sifted through every single text message.
He was quoted as saying he was subjected to an 11-hour “counselling session” as a result of his move to release the photos he took, prior to his termination.
Despite the action taken against him, Yubaraj said he did the right thing when he shared the photographs, which proved a lack of physical distancing among workers.
The 27-year-old said he felt wronged when he was fired, and did not expect to face such a fate for speaking the truth and out of concern.
“Not only was the workers’ accommodation area overcrowded and poorly ventilated, (but) physical distancing was also not enforced in the factory, despite it being a requirement amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I didn’t know they would fire me for doing this,” he said, adding that he only found out later that Top Glove staff are not allowed to take or share photos of their workplace.
Malaysiakini reported that based on Yubaraj’s termination letter, which the portal sighted, Top Glove classified his act of taking photos without prior approval as misconduct that justified his dismissal.
On Sunday, Reuters reported that Yubaraj was terminated as a quality assessor on September 23 after he was identified as the person behind the whistle-blowing following checks of CCTV footage.
In October, he was made to pay for his flight home and mandatory pre-departure Covid-19 test.
Yesterday, Top Glove confirmed that one of its security guards, 29-year-old Yamnarayan Chaudhary Tharu, also a Nepali, was its first employee to die of the disease.
The Vibes reported on Sunday that security guards’ duties were increased at Top Glove during the movement control order in the absence of thermal scanners, where the guards were responsible for taking people’s temperature with handheld scanners.
Ever since the Teratai cluster was established in and around its Meru factories, the company has come under intense scrutiny by the media and local authorities.
The Labour Department has opened 19 investigation papers in five states over allegations of the firm flouting the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990, and will refer the findings to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Top Glove has parried claims of abuse, saying it has spent millions to improve living conditions in Meru, and will invest a further RM100 million to build new hostels and amenities for 7,300 workers over the next three years.
The glove maker also issued a warning to the media on reporting ethics, after news portal Vice News published a YouTube video on Thursday titled “This PPE Factory Isn’t Protecting Its Workers Against Covid”.
The problems raised in the video “are thoroughly misleading and damaging to the company’s good-standing reputation”, said Top Glove. – The Vibes, December 15, 2020
