Thailand’s Hidden Workforce

Burmese Women Factory Workers

Kyoko Kusakabe, Ruth Pearson

Millions of Burmese women migrate into Thailand each year to form the basis of the Thai agricultural and manufacturing workforce. Un-documented and unregulated, this army of migrant workers constitutes the ultimate ‘disposable’ labour force, enduring grueling working conditions and much aggression from the Thai police and immigration authorities. This insightful book ventures into a part of the global economy rarely witnessed by Western observers. Based on unique empirical research, it provides the reader with a gendered account of the role of women migrant workers in Thailand’s factories and interrogates the ways in which they manage their families and their futures.

Contents

Chapter 1: Thailand’s Hidden Workforce: Burmese Women Factory Workers
Chapter 2: Thailand’s industrialization and labour migration policies
Chapter 3: Burmese women migrant workers in Thailand’s export industries:
Chapter 4: Migrant women in Thailand’s factories: working conditions, struggles and experiences
Chapter 5: Burmese migrant women and families in Thailand: reproduction, children and care
Chapter 6: after the crisis: new struggles and possibilities
Chapter 7: Burmese Migrant workers between two worlds
Bibliography
Appendix One–history of registration schemes
Appendix Two–currency exchange rates

About the Authors

Kyoko Kusakabe is an Associate Professor of Gender and Development Studies, and Associate Dean of the School of Environment, Resources, Development (SERD), at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

Ruth Pearson is Professor for Development Studies at the University of Leeds.