SDP submits report to US CBP over labour claims

Company wants to demonstrate full compliance with US regulations, international standards and protection of workers’ rights and well-being

PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) has submitted a comprehensive report to the US Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) in relation to the Withhold Release Order (WRO) on the company’s products over allegations of forced labour.

According to the group’s Bursa Malaysia filing, the report entails a detailed assessment of SDP’s Malaysian operations mapped against each of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) forced labour indicators as well as an indepth description of improved governance structures and management systems.

It also includes copies of policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures; details of facilities at SDP operating units; corresponding supporting evidence; and independent reports from third party consultants appointed by the group to assess various aspects of its operations.

“The aim of the report is to demonstrate SDP’s full compliance with the US import regulations and international labour standards, and that SDP has internal controls and systems in place to protect the rights of its workers and ensure their well-being whilst addressing and removing the existence of any possible indicators of forced labour,” SDP said yesterday.

The group said it will give its full cooperation and continue to engage with the US enforcement agency to modify the finding.

The US CBP issued a WRO in December 2020 on the group, based on reasonable evidence of forced labour in its operations. SDP then cooperated with the American authorities to rectify the issue.

However, on Jan 28, 2022, the US agency issued a notice of finding against SDP which determined certain palm oil products were produced using convict,

forced or indentured labour, based on a report by Thompson Hine SmartTrade. The notice permits the US authorities to seize the importer’s goods upon entry into US territory.