KUALA LUMPUR: There were no forced labour practices found at Sime Darby Plantations Bhd but the firm did fail to report accidents involving its foreign workers within 10 days as stipulated by the law, says Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

       The Human Resources Minister said the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency had earlier barred products from the palm oil producer, citing suspicion of forced labour practices in the oil palm industry.

       However, investigations by his ministry through the Labour Department found no forced labour practices by Sime Darby Plantations, said Saravanan.

       “However, there were offences committed under Section 13 (2) of the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1952, whereby the company failed to report accidents involving foreign workers at the Labour Office within 10 days from the date of the accident,” Saravanan told the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 8).

       This was in response to a question by R. Sivarasa (PH-Sungai Buloh) who asked him to state the results of the ministry’s investigations following allegations of forced labour practices at Sime Darby Plantations, which saw the CBP barring palm oil products from the company.

       Saravanan said the ministry has taken measures to address the ban on palm oil imports to the US market.

       “This includes carrying out inspections to investigate allegations of forced labor on companies that received a Withhold Release Order (WRO) and conducting integrated enforcement with other enforcement agencies such as the police and Immigration Department.

       “The ministry also conducted labour education programmes to companies affected by the WRO to increase understanding and awareness of forced labour,” he explained.

       These initiatives proved that the government takes the allegations of forced labour practices seriously and will intensify enforcement efforts and cooperation with stakeholders to combat labour exploitation practices in the country, he added.