KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) has appointed audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and an independent international non-governmental organisation (NGO) specialising in migrant worker rights to further strengthen its human rights compliance.
In a statement today, SDP said both PwC and the NGO were appointed on Oct 19 and Oct 1, respectively.
"SDP commits to swiftly take any and all corrective measures required, should there be evidence of any wrongdoing or breach of SDP's comprehensive policies and procedures that are already in place.
"We will also work with independent external experts to design the necessary intervention programmes to enhance compliance with the existing human rights commitments," it said.
On April 20, Hong Kong-based anti-human trafficking organisation Liberty Shared submitted a petition to the United States (US) Customs and Border Protection concerning the potential US import ban on SDP's palm oil products.
The plantation giant said it has been working on improving its migrant worker recruitment processes since 2015, and have implemented several measures to progressively enhance the rights and circumstances of its foreign workforce.
"Due to COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place in Malaysia since the first quarter of 2020, we have been unable to recruit new migrant workers," it said.