After being issued the Withhold Release Order by the US Customs and Border Protection, FGV Holdings Berhad embarked on a series of programmes to implement remediation plan to uphold labour rights and address any gaps in its labour practices.
Part of the key component is the reimbursement of recruitment fees imposed on its migrant workers by third-party recruitment agencies.
FGV allocated a total of RM112 million to reimburse recruitment fees to its migrant workers, including former migrant workers. The reimbursements to workers were made in three tranches that were paid in March, June, and September 2023 respectively. To date, a total of RM72.2 million has been reimbursed to 19,673 workers.
Upon completion of the reimbursement programme for its current workers, FGV appointed LRQA, formerly known as ELEVATE to conduct a verification of the reimbursement exercise. LRQA is a leading global assurance partner, with a dedicated sustainability consulting department with vast experience in advancing social compliance and addressing forced labour risks by applying a worker-centric approach.
FGV is also implementing a reimbursement programme for its former migrant workers who are eligible to receive recruitment fee reimbursements from FGV. The former worker reimbursement programme will be carried out until end of 2024. To date, FGV has reimbursed 415 of its former workers amounting to RM1.77 million.
