US investigators question migrant workers from tyre-maker Goodyear Malaysia over labour practices
- The move follows initial allegations by 185 workers from Nepal, India and Myanmar in 2019 and 2020, where they detailed unpaid wages, wrongful deductions and threats
- Malaysian authorities say they have opened a probe into Goodyear, which is partly owned by the nation’s largest fund manager, over labour trafficking
US government investigators have interviewed workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co’s Malaysian factory about their working conditions, employees told Reuters, intensifying scrutiny of potential labour abuses by the tyre maker in the country.
The questioning by the Department of Homeland Security could lead to US prosecutions of one of the world’s biggest tyre makers, which faces related lawsuits and two ongoing investigations by regulators in Malaysia and the United States, each looking into potential exploitation of foreign workers.
Five current and former Goodyear Malaysia staff said US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents had asked about their working and living conditions, details of court cases they filed against Goodyear, a police complaint alleging threats from Goodyear staff and workplace accidents.
In video calls over the past 11 months or more, the agents from the main criminal-investigation unit of the Department of Homeland Security also requested documents relating to their employment, said the workers, who asked not to be identified because they feared reprisals.
Reuters could not determine the specific violations that HSI was seeking to establish.
HSI said it did not comment on ongoing investigations.
Ohio-based Goodyear said it was committed to ensuring its supply chain practices adhered to laws and to its own policies.