UnitingCare Queensland bans Ansell products over modern slavery allegations

One of Queensland’s biggest private hospital and aged-care providers has stopped buying Ansell products as the protective clothing giant reels from modern slavery claims across its supplier base.

The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane will no longer use Ansell gloves. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

One of Queensland’s biggest private hospital and aged-care providers has stopped buying Ansell products as the protective clothing giant reels from modern slavery claims across its supplier base.

UnitingCare Queensland – which operates a network of hospitals, including The Wesley in Brisbane, and aged-care homes throughout the state and in the Northern Territory – is the first Australian healthcare provider to cut ties with Ansell over the allegations.

It comes nine months after US Customs halted imports from one of Ansell’s biggest suppliers, ­Malaysian disposable glove maker YTY Industry Holdings, citing the use of “forced labour”.

Ansell and Kimberly-Clark have also been hit with a lawsuit from former employees of Brightway – another Malaysian glove supplier – over similar rights abuses. Ansell has dismissed the case as “without merit”.

UnitingCare Queensland procurement general manager Justin Savaille said in a letter dated September 5 that the not-for-profit organisation would cease dealing with Ansell, which is listed on the ASX with a market value of $3.34bn.

“It is an expectation that all staff, sites and offices actively work on the elimination of modern slavery in our supply chain through restricted purchasing practices and restricted use of impacted products,” Mr Savaille wrote. “UCQ will cease business with Ansell immediately and latex-free replacements will be sought from alternative vendors. All Ansell products will be removed from catalogues and distributors will be notified of Ansell being excluded. Any deliveries of Ansell products must be refused and back orders cancelled.”

A UCQ spokeswoman told The Australian on Wednesday: “UnitingCare is committed to fostering relationships with business partners, suppliers and contractors whose practices are aligned with our values, as well as our commitments and responsibilities under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 as outlined in UnitingCare’s modern slavery statement.”

“As a mission-based organisation, with a mandate to help ­people live life in all its fullness, UnitingCare opposes exploitative practices that violate an individual’s dignity and human rights.”

Pressure has been mounting on Malaysian manufacturers – some of which are major suppliers of medical gloves – over forced ­labour and suspected abuse of foreign workers. The US has banned imports from seven Malaysian companies in the past two years.

An Ansell spokesman said the company had applied increased scrutiny to the Malaysian global industry following “allegations of practices adverse to labour rights”.

“The industry is making progress to address the most salient risks to its vulnerable workforce and Ansell is committed to helping drive further improvements in worker conditions across the industry, through both supplier and industry engagement,” he said.

“While satisfied that progress is being made, Ansell remains focused on doing what it can to ascertain whether and where its supplier labour standards still require improvement and ensuring further corrective actions are in place. We will comment further on this in our upcoming sustainability report … next week.”

Other healthcare providers have been investigating their suppliers over suspected modern slavery but are understood to have found no gloves acquired from Ansell that were manufactured at YTY or Brightway’s factories.