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Title Labour unrest in Malaya, 1934-1941 Author(s) Tai, Yuen.; 戴淵 Tai, Y. [戴淵]. (1973). Labour unrest in Malaya, 1934-1941. Citation (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5353/th_b3120344 Issued Date 1973 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/39263 The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) Rights and the right to use in future works. UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG FACULTY OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY A Thesis LABOUR UNREST IN MALAYA 1934-1941 Submitted by Tai Yuen In Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Master of Philosophy May 1973 ABSTRACT of thesis entitled "Labour Unrest in Malaya 1934-1941" submitted by Tai Yuen for the degree of Master of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong in May 1973. ****** The period 1934-41 witnessed a tremendous upsurge of labour unrest in Malaya. Beginning with the skilled artisans in 1934, large numbers of labourers in almost all industries throughout Malaya were swept into the vortex of industrial conflict in the following years. Both the Chinese and the Indian labourers had learnt to combine against their employers for higher wages and better working conditions, and the strike weapon was constantly used to enforce their demands. As a result the workers managed to rise from the depths of the Great Depression and secure hitherto unknown improvement in working conditions. This was accompanied by an enormous growth in the strength of organized labour. In 1941 at least 178 workers' associations were in existence in Malaya, and over two-thirds of these were formed during 1934-41. The illegal leftist General Labour Union also grew in strength in addition to a number of political associations which included labourers in their membership. The labour organizations had assumed the functions of trade unions to all intents and purposes although trade union status was not recognized by law until 1940-41. The widespread collective bargainings in conjunction with 11 the remarkable growth of labour unions suggest that the period under review was the formative years of trade unionism in Malaya. Labour at this stage had not yet entered into the field of legislation, but they came to acquire a wealth of experience in political conflict through industrial conflict and the anti-Japanese campaign. Through these and the politico-ideological influence of China and India, the political consciousness of the labourers was enhanced. The main body of the thesis is devoted to a detailed treatment of the course of labour unrest in Malaya in 1934-41 in chronological order. In the conclusion an assessment is made of the achievements and shortcomings of labour. The inadequacies of collective bargaining consisted in the fact that it was not equally effective in all industries and at all times, the gains had not fallen equally on the Indian and the Chinese labourers, the machinery of collective bargaining was incomplete, and it had not succeeded in removing the basic causes of labour discontent. The main weakness of labour organization lay in the paucity of labour associations in the all-important rubber and tin industries and among Indian labourers. These weaknesses, however, did not detract from the significant achievements of the Malayan labourers in collective bargaining, labour organization and political action in those turbulent years. IV PREFACE The object of this study is to delineate the course of labour unrest and, more particularly, to assess the advance of labour through collective bargaining, labour organization and political action in Malaya during the period 1934-41. Several prominent scholars have already made important contributions in the field. J.N. Parmer JhaV^ e written case studies on the attempts at labour organization by the Chinese workers in certain industries in the 1930"s and the Chinese rubber estate workers' strikes in Malaya in March, 1937. Virginia Thompson and W.L. Blythe have discussed the problems of labour unrest in their scholarly works. The more recent contribution has been made by M.R. Stenson. He has included a brief and useful review of labour unrest before the war in his work on industrial conflict in Malaya. Some other scholars, though not writing directly on the subject, have thrown light on some aspects of it in their own works. Important as these contributions are, the subject seems to justify a more coherent and detailed treatment than it has hitherto received, and herein lies the motive for undertaking the present study. While official reports or English-language source materials constitute the most important source for almost all previous works on the subject, this study draws heavily on Chinese- language source materials. There are two main types of Chinese-language materials which are useful for the study of V Malayan labour history: the Chinese newspapers and trade union publications. The Chinese newspapers tended to give a fuller coverage to industrial disputes. The causes of a dispute, the labourers' claims, the events associated with the dispute and the terms of settlement were usually reported in full, and hence not only a case but also the course of labour unrest extending over a period of time can be reconstructed. The merits of the Chinese newspapers as a source of information also lie in their better understanding of the problems of the Chinese labourers, who played a prominent role in the history of labour agitation in Malaya. There are several Chinese newspapers which cover the period under review, but only one of them, viz. Sin Chew Jit Poh is consistently used in this study to avoid duplication. Trade union publications include union souvenir magazines and union organs. Nearly all of them were published by trade unions in the post-war period. Pre-war publications by labour associations, if there were any, probably have all been lost. The union publications occasionally contain articles on union history, which in some cases could be dated back to the pre-war period. These publications are, unfortunately, widely scattered, and there is a danger of their being permanently lost to the student of history if no systematic attempt is made to collect and preserve them. A few of these publications are used in this study as most of them are not readily available. VI Next to Chinese-language source materials, this study also draws on official reports and English-language newspapers, The Straits Times and the Malaya Tribune are used as a supplement to and a check on Chinese newspaper reports. The official annual reports are the most important official source used in this study. The unpublished official records, including the Monthly Review of Chinese Affairs and the files of the Labour Department, have not been consulted because they are not within the immediate reach of the writer. The difficulty in the treatment of the subject lies in the paucity of information regarding extra-legal labour organizations and political movement. The structure, leadership, and much of the activities of the General Labour Union, for example, remain obscure. Since much of the labour unrest in the period cannot be properly understood without reference to them, this lacuna could be a source of weakness in the exposition and interpretation of the subject. Another difficulty is the lack of adequate statistics. No official strike statistics were compiled before the war, and such records on industrial disputes as contained in the Labour Department annual reports are inadequate. Official data on wage rates in all industries except the rubber industry are so ambiguous that they defy any attempt at presenting the wage structure as a whole or quantifying the wave movement over the whole period. An attempt is made in this study to compile the man-days lost through strikes. This compilation claims no exactitude and it is intended primarily Vll to illustrate the broad fluctuations of industrial unrest in the period. It is hoped that by drawing on hitherto unused Chinese- language source materials this study may throw light on some obscure aspects of the subject and thereby contribute to a better understanding of Malayan labour history before the war. It is suggested for future study that the memories of those who have gone through or witnessed industrial disputes during the period be tapped as one of the vital sources of information in order to enlarge our knowledge of the subject. This study is an academic thesis written for the degree of Master of Philosophy at the History Department, University of Hong Kong, during 1972-73. My heartfelt thanks are due to Professor L.K. Young, whose concern for the progress of my work is a constant source of encouragement. I wish to express my deep gratitude in particular to Dr. W.E. Cheong, my supervisor. His vigorous criticism, invaluable advice and unfailing guidance have steered me through the course of this research. I also wish to thank the staff of the University of Hong Kong Library for their assistance. Mr. T.Y. Yong, secretary of the History Department, has been most helpful in typing out the whole manuscript proficiently and speedily to enable me to submit the thesis ahead of the deadline. To him and to all my f^rends who have given me encouragement and assistance I owe a debt of gratitude. University of Hong Kong Y. Tai May, 1973 Vlll ABBREVIATIONS A.C.F.T.U. All-China Federation of Trade Unions A.E.B.U.A. Anti-Enemy Backing Up Association C.C.P. Chinese Communist Party C.I.A.M. Central Indian Association of Malaya F.M.S. Federated Malay States G.L.U. General Labour Union M.C.P. Malayan Communist Party N.C.G.R.A. Nanyang Chinese General Relief Association R • G • A • Rubber Growers' Association S.H.B.

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