No Forced Labour Found at Firemount Textile, Minister Assures Amid US Blacklist Row

No cases of forced labour were discovered by Labour Ministry inspectors at Firemount Textile Ltd, the Minister of Labour and Industrial Relations, Reza Uteem, told the National Assembly on Tuesday, November 25. The Minister’s statement comes after the US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against the company’s textiles on November 18th, following serious allegations of forced labour.

This order mandated that all textiles and apparel manufactured by Firemount Textile Ltd be detained at US ports pending the outcome of an investigation.

A WRO is described as a critical control tool allowing US authorities to detain imports when credible information suggests they were produced by forced labour.

Ministry Investigation Clears Factories

Minister Uteem confirmed that inspectors from his ministry conducted a visit to Firemount Textile’s two factories in La Tour Koenig and St-Felix on November 19th and 20th.

They questioned both foreign workers and members of the enterprise committee and found no evidence of forced labour.

Furthermore, the Minister stated that he chaired a meeting on Monday with the management of Firemount Textile Ltd, attended by ministry officials, where factory representatives denied all allegations against the company.

Blacklist Concerns and US Relations

The Minister informed the Assembly that the CPB report relies on investigations conducted before he took office.

He acknowledged that, in the past, employers would repatriate foreign workers before they could testify against them.

However, he stressed that the law now requires his ministry to be informed before any worker repatriation by a company.

Minister Uteem emphasised that his ministry is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mauritius Exporters Association (MEXA) to have Mauritius removed from the US Department of Labour’s blacklist as quickly as possible.

He declared that his ministry “will not accept any company mistreating foreign workers and harming the island’s reputation.”

Wider Industry Issues and Reforms

The Minister also referenced the 2024 US Department of Labour report on child labour, which included Mauritius on its list of countries producing goods through child or forced labour, specifically in the garment sector.

This inclusion followed “alarming conclusions” from the non-governmental organisation Transparentum, which had denounced workers’ rights violations in the Mauritian textile industry, including Firemount Textile Ltd factories.

Issues raised included recruitment fees, deception, poor working conditions, intimidation, exploitation of vulnerability, audit falsification, and inadequate complaint handling.

In response to these industry concerns, Minister Uteem has met with the US Ambassador to discuss the removal of Mauritius from the blacklist.

Subsequently, new regulations under the Private Recruitment Agencies Act have been implemented to promote ethical recruitment of foreign workers.

Additionally, a Special Unit for Foreign Workers has been created to address their problems, featuring a policy that prohibits companies with serious worker violations from recruiting new employees.

Source: l’Express