Government Inquiry Launched Into PPE Supplier Accused of Forced Labour
The Malaysian-based company Supermax, which was handed a £316 million contract to manufacture nearly 90 million rubber gloves for the NHS at the start of the pandemic, is under Government investigation after concerns that the business uses forced labour at its manufacturing plants. Last month, the U.S. banned Supermax imports after a similar inquiry concluded that modern slavery was involved in the making of rubber gloves. The Guardian has the story.
Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are investigating Supermax, which won a £316 million contract for 88.5 million rubber gloves as the Covid pandemic began to unfold.
Last month the U.S. forbade the Malaysian company from selling its products there after an inquiry found “ample evidence” that it had used forced labour in the manufacture of its rubber gloves. Customs officers were told to seize any disposable gloves made by Supermax as part of a Government order banning the import into the U.S. of any goods made by forced labour.
The U.K. Government has instigated its own inquiry after Jeremy Purvis, a Liberal Democrat peer, demanded scrutiny of Supermax and action to ensure that products made using modern slavery are not used in Britain.
Rubber glove manufacturers in Malaysia have been accused of forcing employees to work long hours, confiscating staff’s passports, paying them derisory sums and ignoring Covid safety protocols in cramped manufacturing sites. Last year Supermax workers claimed they had to work 30 days in a row without a break and had paid high fees in their home countries to get the jobs. The company denied the allegations.
Speaking in the House of Lords on October 21st, a day after U.S. Customs and Border Protection adopted its tough stance, Lord Purvis asked the BEIS minister Gerry Grimstone: “Will the minister instruct an urgent inquiry to ensure that we are not using these products, which are a result of modern slavery in Malaysia?”
Lord Grimstone replied: “I will ensure that that particular company is looked at by my officials.”
Asked by the Guardian for details of the inquiry, a Government spokesperson said: “We take allegations of this nature very seriously and we are investigating the claims made against Supermax. We have made strong commitments to eradicate modern slavery from all contracts in the government supply chain.”
The Government made clear that the investigation could lead to Supermax being banned from supplying the NHS. “A proper due diligence process is carried out for all government contracts and our suppliers are required to follow the highest legal and ethical standards. If they fail to do so we will remove them from current and future contracts,” the spokesperson said.
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There are far more important matters worthy of investigation.
Government spending on MSM propoganda would be a good start and I am sure the members here could list plenty others.
Nothing quite like money and slavery in a far-distant land to distract attention from the myriad scams, crooked deals and insider favouritism rampant in the UK, and especially its rotten politicians. The ghosts of Lloyd George and Maundy Gregory must be green with envy.
It would appear that they are copying a practice that has tainted the US legal system for decades. Even the VP was formerly an enthusiastic prosecutor of trivial drug offences, that coincidentally provided a ready supply of free labour to state enterprises.
But if it saves just one life then slavery is worth it.
That sounds like a Green New Deal slogan. Can we buy the rights to it? Do you have a Whatsapp Group like the NHS to send and settle the contract procurement please?
In other news… A doctor explains why the Queen’s hands have turned purple…really?
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/doctor-explains-queens-hands-turned-22210381
I wonder what on earth could have caused her Maj these unpleasant vascular issues since Oct…? How about immune thrombocytopenic purpura a listed [rare] post vaxx complication…
Bring in the booster quick to set her right perhaps… for the greater good?
Though perhaps better that HRH she should have a swift chinwag with Eric first who also lost the use of his hands for a considerable time…. thanks to being a jibb-jabb early adopter…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OHmMKrVbNk
24 minutes well worth watching in full.
Just one minor change, Ivor Cummins has not gone away, he still hosts a lively and interesting YT channel.
Equally amusing was Queen “Badger” May laying down some pretty disparaging remarks about Clapton and the latter’s intention not to play anywhere “vaccine” passports are required. “Plunker” was the word that came to mind about the former.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brian-may-eric-clapton-covid-19-vaccine-stance_n_611177a1e4b0da973b3c2e42
As lack of PPE was becoming an issue a number of short, jerky homemade films were circulating each showing the production of cheap sky blue masks in third world sweatshops.
The emphasis was on the total lack of hygiene but it was obvious that if those responsible were not prepared to provide adequate working conditions they would be paying workers peanuts if at all.
The films gave no indication where the masks were destined for but, as we all remember, HMG were chucking billions in all directions in an attempt to make up for the PPE deficit.
The workers seemed to comprise extended family groups with the kids and grandma all helping out.
It looks as though Aguero has been forced to retire. So that’s 2 top flight footballers who have had their careers ended by heart issues in the past few months.
The odd thing is they’ve both been transferred recently so both would have undergone stringent health checks.
Yes, yes, let’s tackle modern slavery in Malaysia.
In the meantime, here in Britain, let’s kick out NHS workers that don’t accept our mandated medical treatment. Hold on, no, we’re going to need them over the winter. Keep them on a bit, THEN kick them out, those disgusting, unclean, disobedient people.
The British, always claiming the moral high ground from the depths of a putrid sewer.
That works out at about £3.50 per glove… a bargain?!
Agreed.
Sod the slavery allegation which can likely never be proven.
£3.57/glove (even £3.57/pair) is the real scandal here.
Someone, maybe several someones, is making a lot of money here on the back of the tax payer and corrupt/venal/incompetent (take your pick) politicians
Talk about missing the point.
In other news, the Guardian complains about the lack of diversity amongst the authoritarian public health specialists forcing global medical experiments on the population.
“Where is the BAME LGBT Fauci?” they shriek. “Where is the female Whitty or Vallance?” “We need our authoritarians to be gender and race-balanced and we need it NOW”
Fortunately for the Grauniad, no-one there can spell ‘relevant’.
10 years ago people would highlight the fact why are the UK cannot make its own rubber gloves. (Or masks). But yay
technocratic communismglobalism.At least, since protective gloves were involved, we can be confident that our government’s hands are clean…
I cannot but think how many of these 88.5 million of these gloves will end up being dumped in the oceans. Along with 25000 tonnes of other useless PPE.
I note that I recently transitioned on here to being an “@john-dee”.
Puzzling, but at least I never felt a thing.
‘Supermax’
…it even sounds like a prison.
What about the human rights of the rest of us?
While the MSM condemns the use of ivermectin, the most populated state in India just declared they are officially COVID free after promoting widespread use of the safe, proven medicine. In addition to this, Ivermectin attaches to covid spikes and prevents them from binding to ACE2. Get your Ivermectin today while you still can! https://ivmpharmacy.com
An inquiry after the profits have been made. What a joke