Malaysian rubber glove makers have started paying back thousands of migrant workers for recruitment fees totaling tens of millions of dollars since the U.S. stopped importing from some of them late last year over forced labor claims.
Malaysia supplies nearly 2 in every 3 pairs of disposable rubber gloves used worldwide and has seen demand for the personal protective equipment soar amid the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the factories rely on an army of migrant workers, many of whom pay recruiters hundreds or thousands of dollars for the jobs and take on crippling loans to do so.
Labor advocates call it debt bondage, a prime example of modern-day slavery that can shackle workers to abusive employers for years while they pay off their debts.
