KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Top Glove Corp Bhd has refuted the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) recent report on its workers' welfare, saying it is misleading and has damaged the company’s good reputation.

The company said the report had intentionally downplayed or excluded altogether the most current remedial actions that the rubber glove maker has taken.

"We are extremely disappointed that our remedial actions were not comprehensively published and fairly represented in the main reporting video, as they should rightfully be," Top Glove said in a statement today.

The allegations raised by CBC in its broadcasts and reports, as well as the way in which they were portrayed, suggested a breach in existing policies that it currently has in place and that included Top Glove’s commitment to combating forced labour and its current implementation of robust policies to protect the rights of its workers, it added.

It was reported that the CBC had on Friday published videos and articles detailing what it termed as "appalling" working conditions at Top Glove’s factories.

The reports made use of hidden camera footage, reportedly filmed using a camera smuggled into the premise with the help of a Top Glove employee, of which CBC claimed showed unsafe working and poor living conditions of its employees.

"Top Glove is committed to ensuring that debt bondage and other related issues which were wrongly reported by CBC have no place in our business operations. We approach this by ensuring appropriate decision making across all levels of our operations which are evaluated by our management and directors.

"As an added compulsory measure, the company conducts assessments to identify gaps and potential risks within our operations and supply chains, develop mitigation plans, and provide remedial actions on areas which our business and operations do not meet our aspiration on the rights of our workers,” it stressed.

Top Glove reiterated that the health and safety of its employees is the company’s top priority. As it continues to produce high-quality medical gloves to protect medical practitioners and frontliners across the world, the company is dedicated to adhering to stringent measures to safeguard all employees as well as the communities it serve.

At 11am, shares of Top Glove declined 0.63 per cent to RM6.30. — Bernama