Read more
This book explores three major changes in the circumstances of the migrant working class in south China over the past three decades, from historical and comparative perspectives. It examines the rise of a male migrant working population in the export industries, a shift in material and social lives of migrant workers, and the emergence of a new non-coercive factory regime in the industries. By conducting on-site fieldwork regarding Hong Kong-invested garment factories in south China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, alongside factory-gate surveys in China and Vietnam, this book examines how and why the circumstances of workers in these localities are dissimilar even when under the same type of factory ownership. In analyzing workers' lives within and outside factories, and the expansion of global capitalism in East and Southeast Asia, the book contributes to research on production politics and everyday life practice, and an understanding of how global and local forces interact.
List of contents
Introduction: Modes of Domination over Chinese Migrant Industrial Workers.- Hong Kong Female Garment Workers and China's Open Door.- Chinese Migrant Workers' Everyday Lives in the Early 1990s and Late 2000s.- State-Endorsed Exploitation and a Segmented Labor Market in Shenzhen's Garment Industry.- Power and Domination in the Chinese Garment Workplace.- A Comparative Perspective: Vietnamese Migrant Workers in Ho Chi Minh City.- Conclusion.
About the author
Kaxton Siu is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. He researches on labor and migration in China, Vietnam, Japan and Hong Kong. He has published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Politics and Society, China Journal, Youth and Society, and British Journal of Social Work.
Report
"This book is of great scholarly interest and depth. It is well organized and includes both an introduction and a concluding chapter that bind the research together with the theoretical discussions and suggested new frames. All in all, Kaxton Siu's book must be seen as an important work and it is recommended for anybody interested in labour studies." (Irene Nørlund, China Information, Vol. 35 (2), 2021)
