JOHOR-BASED electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider VS Industry Bhd has appointed PwC Consulting Associates (M) Sdn Bhd to conduct an independent third-party review of its labour practices for migrant workers hired through the recalibration programme.
PwC Consulting is part of the PwC Network, a network of firms in 156 countries with over 295,000 employees who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services.
Each firm is a separate legal entity in the PwC Network. PwC’s purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. PwC Consulting will utilise a multi-disciplined team comprising investigation, compliance, risk management and controls specialists. They will work alongside a labour rights consultant and external legal advisors.
The review will be based on the 11 International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour. This exercise is undertaken to identify, understand and close the gaps specifically for the labour practices under the recalibration programme.
To recap, the recalibration programme was an initiative by the Government to allow employers in certain sectors such as construction, manufacturing, plantation, agriculture and services to legally employ undocumented foreign workers or holders of expired long-term visit passes.
The 11 ILO indicators of forced labour are abuse of vulnerability; deception; restriction of movement; isolation; physical and sexual violence; intimidation and threats; retention of identity documents; withholding of wages; debt bondage; abusive working and living conditions; and excessive overtime.
“The review to be undertaken by PwC Consulting will be comprehensive which includes support from a labour rights consultant,” VS Industry’s managing director Datuk Gan Sem Yam pointed out.
“The scope of PwC Consulting’s appointment also extends to providing a workshop to VS’ board and management to increase knowledge and awareness of forced labour issues and risk management. This is to further enhance our social pillar under our ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives.”
PwC Consulting’s review will be supported by an independent labour rights consultant with significant experience in undertaking labour rights reviews in Malaysia including for the ILO, and helping companies address identified shortfalls.
On a related note, the group acknowledges the contribution by migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall for bringing certain labour-related issues to VS’ attention.
“Hall has played a significant role in working with us to determine the scope of the independent review. He has also helped identify a suitable party for us to also consider undertaking the exercise,” noted Gan.
“Our board, having considered the different proposals, including from the party introduced by Hall, has decided to appoint PwC Consulting.”
Moreover, VS Industry is working closely with the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) to promote on-going assurance to the RBA Code of Conduct.
“At the same time, we look forward to Hall continuing to provide useful information that would contribute to the success of this important review and help safeguard the rights and interest of migrant workers. Ultimately, we are all working towards the same goal,” added Gan.
RBA is the world’s largest industry coalition dedicated to corporate social responsibility in global supply chains.
At the close of today’s mid-day trading, VS Industry was down 1 sen or 0.79% to RM1.26 with 1.12 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM4.82 bil. – Feb 11, 2022
