• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » ‘We’re Crying for Workers’: Labor Squeeze Hits Malaysia’s Gloves

‘We’re Crying for Workers’: Labor Squeeze Hits Malaysia’s Gloves

‘We’re Crying for Workers’: Labor Squeeze Hits Malaysia’s Gloves
October 11, 2019
Bloomberg

An acute labor shortage in Malaysia is penetrating its rubber gloves business, prompting the industry’s association to implore for more workers.

Global demand for rubber gloves has been growing, yet manufacturers are unable to meet the need because of the lack of labor, according to the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association. That’s forced the group to cut its output target for this year by 3.6% to 188 billion pieces of gloves.

“We’re crying for workers,” Denis Low, the president of the association, said during an industry dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of demand, but the glove industry finds it hard to supply because we don’t have the luxury of that kind of overtime for our staff, and simply because we don’t have enough workers.”

The country has been facing manpower issues since Mahathir Mohamad was elected prime minister last year on a platform of cutting the economy’s reliance on cheap, foreign labor. The workforce squeeze is not only hitting the rubber glove industry, the world’s biggest, but also impacting businesses such as palm plantations, construction, restaurants and barber shops.

Exploiting Workers

Some companies in Malaysia have faced allegations of exploiting workers in modern slavery conditions. Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked imports of disposable rubber gloves from a Malaysian firm on suspicion that they were manufactured using forced labor.

The government has been imposing stricter labor requirements and has cracked down on foreign workers without permits. Excess work hours have also been cut, with foreign workers now limited to two hours of overtime compared with three to four hours earlier.

Malaysia is also asking business owners to carry out independent audits in line with international labor standards before they apply for foreign worker permits. The social compliance audits will become mandatory from 2021 and are designed to address issues affecting foreign workers and meet social and ethical demands from international buyers.

For the rubber glove industry, at least 25,000 foreign workers are needed to replace those who have left and manage expanded capacities, Low said. Output of rubber gloves in the first half of the year contracted by 4.5%, he said.

“If Malaysia supplies just 10% to 20% less, there’ll be a shortage in the world,” he said.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

  • Related Articles

    ‘Unsustainable’ Squeeze Grips U.S. Hospitals on Covid Labor Cost

    Heathrow Stockpiles Rubber Gloves, Scanners for No-Deal Brexit

    Amazon Threatened Workers Over Union Vote, Labor Officials Find

Bloomberg

FedEx to Cut Management Jobs by More Than 10%, CEO Says

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management
  • GSCMS-Promo.png

    Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

    Education & Professional Development
  • A HAND TURNS A LARGE, LIGHTED DIAL WITH THE WORD RISK ON IT iStock-NicoElNino-1364371014.jpg

    Measuring KPIs and KRIs for Comprehensive Supplier Performance Management

    Technology

Digital Edition

Scb q1 2023 cover

2023 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide: Packing for a Difficult Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing