Transnational Migration and Work in Asia Migration, especially for work, is a major issue for the twenty-first century. International organizations estimate that there are some 100 million migrant workers, immigrants and members of immigrant families worldwide, with at least seven million of these residing in South and East Asia. Focusing on the issues associated with migrating for work both in and from the Asian region, Transnational Migration and Work in Asia sheds new light on the debate over migration – increasing our understanding and awareness of this important issue. The first of its kind to look at the non-professionals who make up the vast majority of migrant workers in the Asian region, this book provides a broad perspective with case studies on migrants in and from Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Nepal, Laos, Burma, Japan, China and the Philippines. These in-depth studies strive to examine the motivations and rationalities of migrant workers as they navigate their way from local communities to their position in the global network. Equally those intermediaries who seek to profit from the transnational flow of migrant workers such as recruitment agents, labour brokers, money lenders, traffickers and remittance agencies are analysed as labour becomes increasingly commodified and traded internationally. With contributions from an international team of well-known scholars, the book sets labour migration firmly within the context of globalization, providing a focused, contemporary discussion of what is undoubtedly a significant issue in today’s world. Kevin Hewison is Director of the Carolina Asia Center and Professor in the Department of Asian Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to this he was Director of the Southeast Asia Research Centre at the City University of Hong Kong. Ken Young is Professor in the School of Sciences at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. Prior to this he was Director of the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies (CAPSTRANS) at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Routledge/City University of Hong Kong Southeast Asian Studies Edited by Kevin Hewison University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Vivienne Wee City University of Hong Kong 1 Labour, Politics and the State in Industrializing Thailand Andrew Brown 2 Asian Regional Governance: Crisis and Change Edited by Kanishka Jayasuriya 3 Reorganising Power in Indonesia The politics of oligarchy in an age of markets Richard Robison and Vedi R Hadiz 4 Transparency and Authoritarian Rule in Southeast Asia Singapore and Malaysia Garry Rodan 5 Transnational Migration and Work in Asia Edited by Kevin Hewison and Ken Young Transnational Migration and Work in Asia Edited by Kevin Hewison and Ken Young I~ ~~o~!!;n~~;up LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2006 by Routledge Published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2006 Kevin Hewison and Ken Young, selection and editorial matter; the contributors, their own chapters Typeset in Baskerville by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, Chennai, India The Open Access version of this book, available at www.tandfebooks.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 978-0-415-36889-6 (hbk) Contents List of figures vii List of tables ix List of contributors xi Acknowledgements xiii 1 Introduction: globalization and migrant workers in Asia 1 KEVIN HEWISON AND KEN YOUNG PART I Globalization and migration 13 2 Globalization and the changing management of migrating service workers in the Asia-Pacific 15 KEN YOUNG 3 The country and the cities 37 ADRIAN VICKERS PART II Migrant workers, trafficking and the state 55 4 Lao migrant workers in Thailand 57 MANIEMAI THONGYOU AND DUSADEE AYUWAT 5 Positioning the product: Indonesian migrant women workers in Taiwan 75 ANNE LOVEBAND 6 Thai workers in Hong Kong 90 KEVIN HEWISON vi Contents 7 Building Hong Kong: Nepalese labour in the construction sector 110 STEPHEN FROST 8 Filipino nightclub hostesses in Hong Kong: vulnerability to trafficking and other human rights abuses 126 ROBYN EMERTON AND CAROLE PETERSEN 9 Migrant workers in Macao: labour and globalization 144 ALEX H. CHOI 10 Exploitation in global supply chains: Burmese migrant workers in Mae Sot, Thailand 165 DENNIS ARNOLD AND KEVIN HEWISON PART III Policy-making and migrant labour 191 11 From wage labourers to investors? Filipina migrant domestic workers and popular capitalism 193 KATHLEEN WEEKLEY 12 Trading labour–trading rights: the regional dynamics of rights recognition for migrant workers in the Asia-Pacific 213 ROCHELLE BALL AND NICOLA PIPER Index 235 Figures 4.1 Lao migrants being interviewed while being registered for temporary work permits, Khon Kaen, Thailand, July 2004 59 4.2 Registration includes the issue of a photo identification card for each migrant, Khon Kaen, July 2004 60 6.1 Thai migrant workers making merit outside a Thai goods shop in Kowloon City 102 6.2 Buying Thai food from a stall, Kowloon City 102 10.1 Burmese children on the Thailand–Burma border, with the Friendship Bridge in the background 166 10.2 The Tak Provincial Office of the Ministry of Labour and the Federation of Thai Industries, Tak Chapter 172 10.3 Burmese migrant workers fill out forms to submit to the provincial Labour Protection Office, claiming back wages from their employer 176 10.4 Workers in a funeral procession for a murdered worker who was active in organizing in his factory 179 Tables 4.1 Level of education 62 4.2 Occupation in Laos prior to migration 62 4.3 Employment in Thailand 63 4.4 Working conditions 63 4.5 Social networks with Laos 65 4.6 Home contacts 66 4.7 Remittances 67 4.8 Social network among Lao migrant workers 69 4.9 Group activities 70 4.10 Social network in Thailand 71 6.1 Population by ethnicity, 2001 91 6.2 Occupations and ethnicity 91 6.3 Thai workers overseas, 1980–99 (selected years) 93 6.4 Overseas remittances via the banking system, 1996–2001 94 6.5 Last work before first migrating to Hong Kong 97 6.6 Pre-departure wage 98 6.7 Payments to agents 99 6.8 Remittances 103 6.9 Persons supported by remittances in Thailand 104 6.10 Uses of remittances 104 7.1 Emigration from Nepal, 1971–2001 113 7.2 Job training during initial employment phase 119 7.3 Work place discipline 120 7.4 Monthly wage 121 7.5 Leave entitlements 123 9.1 Total employed population and non-resident workers in Macao 146 9.2 Distribution of migrant workers by countries of origin and by sex 147 9.3 Income levels for local and non-resident workers 148 9.4 Size and percentage of migrant workers by occupation and skill levels, 2003 148 x Tables 9.5 GDP and median monthly income by sectors 156 11.1 Migrant worker departures from the Philippines in 2003 200 12.1 Philippine workforce in Southeast and East Asia (1997, 2001) 216 Contributors Dennis Arnold is a researcher and activist with the Bangkok-based Thai Labour Campaign. He is also a researcher in the Asian Transnational Corporation Monitoring Network, coordinated by the Asia Monitor Resource Centre, Hong Kong. Dusadee Ayuwat is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. Rochelle Ball has written extensively on international migration issues. She has held positions at universities in the United States, Hong Kong and Australia and is presently based at The Australian Defence Force Academy at The University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia. Alex H. Choi is Assistant Professor with the Public Administration Program, University of Macau. Previously he was a Research Fellow with the Southeast Asia Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong. Robyn Emerton is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. Stephen Frost is a Research Fellow at the Southeast Asia Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong. He was previously the Research Coordinator with the Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization, Asia Monitor Resource Centre. Kevin Hewison is Director of the Carolina Asia Center and Professor in the Department of Asian Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to this he was Director of the Southeast Asia Research Centre at the City University of Hong Kong. Anne Loveband is completing her PhD with the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformations, University of Wollongong, Australia. Her research focuses on Indonesian domestic workers in Taiwan. Carole Petersen is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong. xii Contributors Nicola Piper is Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. Previously she held research appointments at the Australian National University and the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. Maniemai Thongyou is Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. Adrian Vickers is Professor of Asian Studies and a researcher in the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Kathleen Weekley is Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Asia Pacific Transformation Studies, University of Wollongong, Australia. Ken Young is Professor in the School of Social Sciences at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. Prior to this he was Director of the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Ackowledgements The editors and contributors are indebted to the many people who contributed generously to our investigations.