Not so good year for Goodyear.
U.S. government investigators have interviewed Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co Malaysia factory workers about their working conditions and labor abuse by the tire manufacturer.
The results of the interviews by the Department of Homeland Security could lead to the US prosecution of one of the world's largest tire companies facing legal action and 2 ongoing investigations by regulators in Malaysia and the US each examining the potential exploitation of foreign workers .
According to a report from Reuters, 5 Goodyear employees and former employees were interviewed by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents regarding their working and living conditions, details of court cases they filed against Goodyear, police complaints alleging threats from Goodyear employees and accidents at workplace.
He added that in the interview, the agent also asked for documents related to their work.
There are currently no detailed comments from HSI regarding the investigation.
The HSI investigation was made following 3 allegations filed by 185 foreign workers from Nepal, India and Myanmar against Goodyear Malaysia in the national industrial court in 2019 and 2020 alleging non -payment of wages under collective agreements, wrongful deductions and threats against foreign workers.
In June 2020, the court ordered Goodyear to reimburse salaries to some jobs and comply with the agreement under which the company had appealed the decision.
The company also argued in court that foreign workers were not entitled to the benefits of a collective agreement because they were not union members.
So far, Goodyear is still reluctant to comment on the allegations, including Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) which owns 49% of Goodyear's shares.
