The UK government is facing legal action over its decision to use a Malaysian company accused of using forced labour as a supplier of personal protective equipment.
Wilson Solicitors, a London-based law firm, has filed for a judicial review of the government's decision to name the UK subsidiary of the Malaysian company Supermax as one of the approved suppliers in a new £6 billion contract for disposable gloves for the National Health Service.
There have been allegations of forced labour at Supermax factories in Malaysia. The US banned imports from Supermax in October of 2021. Canada stopped federal imports in November of 2021.
Supermax workers said they had to work 30 days in a row without a day off and had to pay high fees in their home countries to get the jobs. The company denied the accusations.
The UK government launched an investigation after the US banned Supermax. Supermax was one of the approved suppliers that were able to pitch for contracts under the framework agreement for the purchase of surgical gloves.
Wilson Solicitors, which is acting for a group of Supermax workers, said it had asked the National Health Service to reconsider its decision to continue awarding contracts to the company, arguing that public procurement legislation in the UK allowed for the authorities to stop relationships with suppliers on the basis of evidence of labour The judicial review is proceeding after it found the government response inadequate.
Nusrat Uddin, a solicitor at Wilson, said that the legal requirements are clear that there should be real verification of suppliers before the award stage.
She said that the government's approach undermines the UK's claims that they are world-leading in the fight against modern slavery and highlights the weakness of their own legislation.
The case will be heard at the high court. The UK government faced legal action for the first time under public procurement legislation.
Hundreds of millions of gloves have been provided by Supermax to hospital doctors and nurses. It received a Covid-19 contract in 2020. The Department of Health and Social Care said that the latest order for 135m gloves was placed in July 2021.
The Department of Health and Social Care, which oversees the National Health Service, has made commitments to eradicate modern slavery.
We take any allegations of this nature very seriously and do not hesitate to investigate claims against manufacturers. Our suppliers are required to follow the highest legal and ethical standards in order to do business with us. We can't comment further at this time.
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PPE gloves made in slave-like conditions are being urged to avoid.
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Malaysia produces two-thirds of the world's disposable gloves. Brightway and Top Glove have faced accusations of labour abuses from some of their workers, and the National Health Service gave UK hospitals millions of gloves from Brightway and Top Glove.
Supermax said in a statement that it had implemented a new foreign worker policy in November 2021, which would speed up the process of meeting the International Labour Organization's labour standards.
It said it had raised its minimum wage, was repaying recruitment fees to some former workers, and was working on an equal pay structure to eliminate discrimination.
