KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Sony Group Corporation said its on-site audit of the Malaysian factory that supplies plastic components for its electronic products found the contractor had violated their supply chain code of conduct, following allegations of forced labour practices previously raised by activists and workers.
The electronics giant is one of three Japanese mega firms to source plastic components from Kawaguchi Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, the Klang-based company accused of various forced labour practices that were first brought to light by workers who went on strike to demand months of unpaid salary. The other two are Panasonic and Daikin, the air conditioner maker.
Sony said the company puts in place strict supply chain rules that include requiring suppliers to respect the human rights of its workers and explicitly prohibits the use of trafficked and forced labour, including exploitative labour, confiscation of passports or collection of recruitment fees.
“As regarding the questioned supplier, in accordance with the above policy, we have conducted the investigations including an on-site audit by a third-party auditor and our direct communications with the company,” the company said in a statement sent to the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, an advocacy group that monitors human rights abuses among businesses.
“Through these investigations, we have reason to believe there were violations of the Code at the company.”
Last month, Kawaguchi’s office was raided by the Port Klang Labour Office following a complaint by a migrant worker rights activist, Andy Hall, who has worked on multiple cases of foreign worker abuses in the country.
The department said it found evidence that Kawaguchi has not been paying over 200 of their Bangladeshi workforce since April this year.
The company was also found to have withheld the workers’ passports, a violation of labour laws and an indicator of forced labour practices.
Sony said it has “requested” Kawaguchi to immediately implement “corrective measures” including appropriate payment to workers, proper management of working hours, and improvement of living conditions of its dormitory.
“We will continue to work closely with relevant authorities to monitor the progress of the corrective measures to be done by the company. We may also conduct the follow-up audit as needed,” the firm said.
The investigations into Kawaguchi Manufacturing are the latest in a series of foreign worker-exploitation cases involving Malaysian contractors and companies, several of which have been flagged for abuses that activists alleged to amount to “modern-day slavery.”
Some of these companies have been slapped with export bans, while Malaysia has had its rating downgraded to the lowest tier in the US Department’s anti-human trafficking report.
