Factory accommodation most foul: a nauseating inspection in Port Klang

PORT KLANG – The putrid stench of faecal matter permeates the workers’ dining area of a rubber glove factory sitting next to the meandering bank of Sg Klang.

The smell is odd – out of place, even – as the dining area, located at the back of the factory, is clean, albeit a tad watery. The adjacent toilets are also somewhat sanitary.

“It (the smell) gets worse when it rains,” murmured one of the workers when reporters noted the nauseating odour, while enforcement officers searched the factory for signs of non-compliance with the rules.

The spotless, slippery beige-tiled floor looks as though a thorough scrubbing had been done earlier.

The authorities maintained that it was a random inspection, and dismissed rumours of a leak.

A peep through a knee-high crack on a grime-coated zinc partition separating the dining area and the river revealed the source of the stink – piles of garbage and all manners of waste were lined up by the riverbank.

The factory, which the authorities advised to be kept anonymous, is one of the many glove makers that have been under scrutiny over poor labour practices ever since Covid-19 infections were detected among Top Glove Corp Bhd employees early last month.

While the worker dormitories at the factory here are not as squalid as the ones raided by the authorities in recent weeks, they still do not comply with the standards set by the government under the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990, or Act 446.

“Their beds have no mattresses. They sleep on wooden bed frames. The beds are like ‘pangkin’ (wooden-floored shelters),” said Peninsular Malaysia Labour Department deputy director-general (operations) Mohd Asri Abdul Wahab, who oversaw the inspection.

Under the law, companies are required to provide not only mattresses, but also blankets and pillows, to workers living in dorms. Additionally, these dorms need to be built outside the factory premises, unless permitted by local authorities.

Proper ventilation is also compulsory, but the dorms at this factory have only small exhaust fans installed at the rear of each room, which is crammed with up to eight double-decker beds with frames wrapped in vinyl sheets.

Opposite the dorms is a well-kept and spacious surau for Muslim workers, but it is flanked by heaps of broken ceramic glove moulds and defective gloves that presumably did not make the cut.

The son of the factory owner – the heir apparent – who arrived at the end of the inspection in a sporty yellow Volkswagen said he is unsure how the shattered moulds and faulty gloves ended up next to the surau.

“Honestly, I am not really sure how to answer that, because it is not us throwing them away. We have already set up the rules.

“We have a lot of foreign workers. For us to be able to make it spick and span… it takes time.”

Like most inadequate worker accommodation, the dorms at the factory are ill-equipped to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Klang Health Department health and hygiene inspector Ili Syazwani Mohd Mashudi said social-distancing markers placed in the dorms are likely just for show.

“There are no records from the factory to show that it (social distancing) is being practised. There are no sanitisers provided in the toilets. This place has the potential to be shut down.

“However, I am still waiting for a thorough report from my team on whether there is a need to close the entire factory or just the dorms.” – The Vibes, December 26, 2020