ATA IMS Bhd looks forward to working with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (“Suhakam” or “the Commission”) to improve its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices.
The Commission had visited the Company’s facilities on September 17, 2021, to verify allegations of forced labour and modern-day slavery made in an article by a British newspaper in June 2021. The paper had since issued a public apology on these allegations in July 2021. All the same, the Company was happy to receive representatives from the Commission.
In its correspondence to the Company following the visit, Suhakam had commended ATA on several matters:
- Accommodations:
1.1 The condition of the workers’ rooms and building structure of the hostel are decent with enough space for the number of persons per unit.
1.2 The hostels had clean toilets with running water. - Food:
2.1 Food for workers is prepared in a clean environment.
2.2 Food is priced at an affordable rate for workers. - Health and safety measures:
3.1 ATA adheres to strict pandemic prevention guidelines in its office and production plant.
3.2 Workers that Suhakam interviewed verified that they were vaccinated under a programme run by ATA and the Federal Government.
The Commission also provided feedback for improvement for ATA’s consideration. In the interest of improving its ESG practices for the benefit of its workforce, the Company put in place the following immediate remedial and improvement actions:
- Awareness of grievance channels:
1.1 While there is a hotline for workers to air their grievances, the Commission noted that workers in the production plant did not mention anything about the hotline during its interview sessions with them.
1.2 ATA has since increased the promotion and advertisement of these grievance channels within the Company’s premises, factories, as well as workers’ accommodations. - Recruitment fees:
2.1 Workers had informed Suhakam that they had to pay a sum of money to foreign agents before being recruited by the Company.
2.2 The Company has since terminated an agent for charging recruitment fees to workers. - Communication issues when receiving medical care at a health facility:
3.1 Some workers had informed Suhakam of communication issues they faced when receiving treatment at the Company’s clinic, which resulted in them being prescribed the wrong medication.
3.2 The Company has taken remedial measures, which include putting up posters for translation facilities with the contacts of translators to assist workers from Nepalese and Bangladeshis from the Human Resources department, to promote awareness as part of its continuous improvement.
While the Commission commended ATA for showing its commitment to fulfilling the requirements set up by its clients and its adherence to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it also recommended several measures for ATA to improve its CSR.
ATA looks forward to working closely with Suhakam, as well as with the Government, the Ministry of Human Resources and other relevant bodies in its efforts to step up on its ESG and CSR efforts, towards becoming a leading company in the Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) industry.
For more information on ATA, please visit: https://www.ataims.com.my/
