MALAYSIAN company ST Microelectronics has been accused of putting profit before workers’ safety, with 19 of its employees having died after contracting coronavirus.

The country’s Ministry of International Trade & Industry ordered a total shutdown of the plant on July 29 until August 4; 100 workers are still infected and 600 in quarantine.

Bosses were yesterday accused of recklessness and endangering lives by only closing parts of the business when cases had been reported in a bid to keep productivity going.

Deputy president of the Electronics Industry Employees Union South Region Roslan Bin Rosdi said the situation would have been prevented if the firm had engaged in dialogue. He called for the strict implementation of health and safety protocols across all its sites.

Global union federation IndustriAll general secretary Valter Sanches has written to ST Microelectronics calling on it to “put people before profits” and engage in dialogue with the union.

Malaysia has the highest Covid-19 infection rates per capita in south-east Asia, peaking at 20,000 cases in the past week.