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Subcontract Labour in Asia
22-24 November 1999 Bangkok-Thailand
Jointly organized by CLARA (Changing Labour Relations in Asia)/ CUSRI
(Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute) and HOMENET, Thailand
Subcontracting arrangements, where production is decentralized and conducted outside
the formal workplace, or labour is obtained and controlled through intermediaries,
have been familiar features in the history of labour. These arrangements
whether driven by labour shortage or by labour surplus situations, by
fluctuating consumer markets or by the strengthening demands of organized
labour, are not only characteristic of developing economies in the contemporary
period but also of the western industrialized countries both in the
past and present. Therefore one can not describe the development of
work organization and labour relations as following a linear process
starting from a stage of decentralized labour relations to a more centralized
one, as various descriptions regarding the industrialization process
have tended to do in describing industrialization in the west. The logical
question is that, if we cannot use a linear framework to describe the
development of work organization in Asia, and if we take into account
the diversities of labour arrangements which are embedded in different
institutional frameworks, how can comparative and historical studies
help us to examine and explain these diversities? And what are the similarities
and continuities that can be identified?
These broad questions became the terms of reference for the papers of the
workshop which covered a diverse range of sectors, different levels
of analysis, different historical periods and geographical areas. The
general situation of subcontracting showing the way in which production
is organized in a decentralized manner utilizing a combination of family/household
labour and wage labour and often deploying 'traditional' recruiting
institutions covering the industrial, service and agricultural sectors
was shown in the many case studies from India, Philippines, Thailand,
Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia. In periods of labour shortage extra-economic
methods (sanctions, physical punishment) were used to obtain labour
in combination with economic measures (bonuses, higher wages or the
creation of dual markets). However in periods of labour surplus and
with the stronger role of capital, the relatively low cost of labour,
the weak role of unions and the lack of employment opportunities such
measures were not anymore needed. The latter situation is reflective
of the contemporary situation in most parts of Asia, which one speaker
has termed a 'buyer-driven' situation, which he distinguishes from a
'producer-driven' situation, characterized by a need for specialized
knowledge rather than cheap labour. The various papers also discussed
the different categories of labour (based on gender, ethnicity and age-group)
and the different definitions of skill which emerged out of these subcontracting
arrangements. Although most of the empirical studies did not look into
the consequences of subcontracting arrangements on local politics and
community life, community organizers from Thailand involved with homeworkers
in different parts of Thailand brought up the problems of organizing
homeworkers particularly vis-a-vis trade unions. It was recognized that
in looking at the nature of labour relations in subcontracting arrangements
and the consequences these have on workers in the workplace and outside
the workplace, an understanding of such processes cannot be achieved
without looking at the broader picture and the historical dimension
in which these relations are situated.
Speakers: Frederic Deyo, Alec Gordon, Ravi Ahuja, Irene Norlund, Jan
Lucassen, Sietze Vellema, Napat Sirisambhand, Isabelle Vagneron, Insoo
Jeong, Roli Talampas, Erwan Purwanto, Neetha N. Pillai, Ratna Saptari,
Indrasari Tjandraningsih and Ernawati, Rajeev Sharma, Rakawin Leechanavanichpan,
Adrian Vickers and Jan Elliott
Ratna Saptari
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