'Globalisation, the new international division of labour and labour relations in Southeast Asia'

Lecture Prof. Amarjit Kaur

On November 28, 2000 Amarjit Kaur, Professor of Economic History of the University of New England (Australia) and visiting fellow of the IISH, gave a lecture on labour relations in Southeast Asia.

Contents

The shape of Southeast Asia's current politics and policies was set in the 1960s amid post-colonial anxieties and the Cold War. During this period globalisation accelerated and moved into a different gear. The establishment of an international superstructure in the post World War II period and institutionalised multilateral or bilateral co-operation in monetary and commercial policy saw a remarkable growth of some of the Southeast Asian economies. New production technologies and new communications and transport technology also assisted the transformation of these economies. The states that embraced the global market became the location sites of manufacturing industries producing for the world market. One key element of this reorganisation of production was the global reorganisation of labour,or the new international division of labour. The multinational corporations that relocated their production facilities brought with them their management and labour control strategies. These strategies included divide and rule strategies (based on gender and ethnicity) incorporated into the production process and reward system; recruitment strategies; and corporate paternalism to nurture workers' identification with the firm. These strategies are themselves forms of state action and fulfill the purposes of political legitimation of the state.

The lecture examines how transnational economic processes and institutions, open trade and capital flows have shaped and continue to shape labour systems and labour relations in Southeast Asia. It also explains how the labour control strategies meet the two important functions of the accumulation and legitimation of capital.