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We reflect on the key takeaways from our exploration of worker struggles across Asia. The historical and geographical context of strike waves offers valuable insights, and the comparative analysis is important for understanding labor movements. We highlight the growing shift toward organizing in non-industrial sectors and the crucial role of grassroots mobilization. We also address the emerging importance of other groups of workers such as platform and care workers, exploring how labor movements must adapt to these new dynamics to remain relevant and effective. (We would like to thank Bayley Boecker again for the excellent audio-editing and voicing the episode introductions).
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In the aftermath of the major strike waves across Asia in the 2010s, the initial worker victories in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China were met with increasing government repression and restrictive labor laws. We analyze the more repressive environment for labour activism, the deepening of neoliberal policies, and how workers are mobilizing beyond the workplace, engaging in broader political movements and structural change. We touch on the tensions between narrow factory-based industrial struggles and broader class-based movements. We end with a discussion about the growing activism of workers in public sectors and precarious positions, who have become more organized following the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis and its significant impacts on export sectors in Asia, workers in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China rose in unprecedented numbers, demanding fair wages, better conditions, and stronger protections. This is a high point in the wave of workers' strikes and mobilizations that swept across Asia during the late 2000s and early 2010s. We are interested in how workers adapted their strategies, sometimes scaling up localized protests into larger movements or general strikes. Despite diverse political and economic contexts, these labor movements reveal a common thread of resilience and growth, as workers gained experience and confidence while confronting mounting global pressures.
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Political reforms and market liberalization significantly shaped the terrains of workers’ struggles in Asia. While Cambodia, Indonesia, China and Vietnam have also all seen market liberalisation and export-oriented industrialisation, they experienced divergent political trajectories, with some undergoing democratization and others remaining as authoritarian states. In this episode, we look at the impacts of these developments, including the institutionalisation of labour relations such as in Cambodia, and the continuing political exclusion of labour as in Vietnam and China. We discuss how labour movements responded to the political and economic dynamics by drawing on a mixed repertoire of organizing, mobilization and advocacy.
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Against the interdependence and dialectics of liberalization and integration into global capitalism, new working classes emerged in Asia as key actors in the 1990s and 2000s. This set the stage for the Asian strike waves of the 2010s. Looking at the divergent histories and parallel developments in Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China, we consider how economic and political shifts spurred institutional transformations. As workers in varying contexts mobilized in response to both enabling and constraining industrial relations frameworks, labor activism in these countries evolved into diverse yet strikingly similar movements.
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Welcome to Season 2 of Continent of Resistance, a structured and research-driven series. In this introductory episode, we discuss the changes since their first season and introduce the key themes of the new series. We reflect on their motivations for examining the wave of labor strikes across Asia in the late 2000s and early 2010s, sparked by a curiosity about why so many countries experienced simultaneous waves of worker activism: what triggered these strike waves? And what lessons can be drawn for future labor organizing? (We would like to thank Bayley Boecker for the excellent audio-editing and voicing the episode introductions)
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In this special double-episode, we curate selected excerpts from our insightful discussions with activists and researchers throughout 2023. The featured discussions illuminate the challenges associated with organizing gig and freelance workers, showcase the unwavering resilience of women journalists and media professionals confronting issues of harassment and precarity, and dig into the mobilization efforts of logistics workers and South Korean truckers navigating the web of neoliberalism and authoritarianism. Our excerpts traverse diverse countries, including Myanmar, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, providing an understanding of the multifaceted struggles faced by workers in these regions.
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In this special double-episode, we curate selected excerpts from our insightful discussions with activists and researchers throughout 2023. The featured discussions illuminate the challenges associated with organizing gig and freelance workers, showcase the unwavering resilience of women journalists and media professionals confronting issues of harassment and precarity, and dig into the mobilization efforts of logistics workers and South Korean truckers navigating the web of neoliberalism and authoritarianism. Our excerpts traverse diverse countries, including Myanmar, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, providing an understanding of the multifaceted struggles faced by workers in these regions.
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Labor movements have aspired to establish their own political parties to contest state power. Indonesia has witnessed the emergence of such a party.
In this episode, we delve into the origin story of the Labor Party of Indonesia, exploring its goals and political agenda for the upcoming election. Muhammad Ridha, a candidate representing the Labor Party in next year's election, joins our conversation.
We spoke about the debates within the Party, labor struggle in Indonesia, the Party's conception of class and its role in bridging the gap between the working class and the Party.
Our cohost, Kiang, shares his experiences from engaging with co-operators, scholars and activists working with platform cooperatives around the world at a conference in Kerala, India.
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A conversation between the co-hosts, Kiang and Kevin zoom out and take stock of the economic and political moment our labour movements in Asia are in. The widely shared sentiment is that conditions have become much worse for workers in recent years. How have we arrived at this moment, and what explains this development? In this conversation, we draw connections between our current conjuncture and pivotal moments such as the neoliberal development, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the 2007 Great Recession, and the complex realities we face today. We delve into how neoliberalism, in its varieties, has shaped the labour landscape, the authoritarian turn of neoliberalism, the cycles of labour struggle that have arisen to resist the neoliberal assaults, and the emerging crisis of social reproduction. How we react at this moment carries immense importance for the future of labour.
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One logistics and food delivery platform company, Grab, dominates almost the entirety of Southeast Asian markets. In this two-part conversation, we delve into the dynamic world of collectivization, and the emergence and development of self-organization among Grab couriers and riders in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Joining us are Toan Le and Reza Rumakat, alongside our cohost, Kiang. Our conversation touches on the prevailing conditions within the logistics and food delivery sectors in Southeast Asia, where frequent "wildcat strikes" and protests serve as primary vehicles for voicing workers' collective demands. In Part One, we look at each locality's unique economic and institutional landscapes, illuminating a clearer understanding of how gig workers are actively shaping their activism. Transitioning into the Part Two of our conversation, we dig deeper into the organizational forms and structures that have emerged within these groups before shedding light on the gender and organizational challenges present within these existing frameworks.In the final segment, Kevin shares his impressions of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) convention in Seattle in early August, and Asian-American labour organising.
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In Asia, bright and artistic young people have pursued their passion in the media and creative industry as journalists, theater workers and musicians. Despite the space such work affords for their creativity, these are also some of the most precarious and insecure jobs, with many working from one short-term contract to the next. One union in Indonesia, SINDIKASI (the Media and Creative Industry Workers' Union for Democracy), has taken upon itself to organise these young freelancers across the industry. In this episode, we spoke with Nura Aini, the chairwoman of SINDIKASI, from Jakarta, Indonesia.Nura, a former journalist herself, shared with us her journey into labor organising, driven by a goal to address the issues faced by workers in the media and creative industry. She shed light on SINDIKASI’s unique approach in organising workers across workplaces, the union's unwavering commitment to promoting gender-based equality, and the obstacle of convincing young freelancers to recognise themselves as workers.In our co-host discussion, Kiang shared his thoughts on participating in the launch of the ASEAN Employment Outlook report, and on its findings and recommendations on regulating digital and platform work. We then briefly delved into a debate around conceptual drawbacks surrounding the formalisation of informal work resulting from digitisation and platformisation.
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Logistics has become the buzzword in today's global economy. But who exactly are logistics workers, and what is the history of the logistics revolution? In this episode, we explore the world of logistics workers and their efforts to build bargaining power through organising and disruption.Our guest, Wol-san Liem, has worked for years with transport workers, previously at the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU) and now at the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). We spoke about how transport workers build their collective power based on their structural, associational and societal power. We also delved into the recent strike waves by Korean truckers, examining their strategic approaches in national campaigns and the hostile responses of the government.In the final segment, Kiang offers his thoughts on the recent general elections in Thailand and what it means for organised labour; and, Kevin shares his observations from a recent trip to the Philippines about the union movement's fight against contractualisation and repression.Further Reading:Wol-san Liem, "Resisting Labour Degradation in Korea", Asian Labour Review, May 21, 2023, https://labourreview.org/truck-drivers/
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In this May Day special, we explore the meaning of worker and labor activism, with a focus on engaging youth in the fight for workers' rights. To celebrate the special occasion of the 120th anniversary of May Day in the Philippines, the guest for this episode is Kara Taggaoa, a young labor activist who has experiences in indigenous and youth activism. In this high-spirited discussion, Kara joins us to reflect on her childhood memories of May Day celebrations in the Cordillera region and her role first as a student activist and then as a labor organizer. We also venture into media representation of workers, the role of culture and art in labor activism, and the different ways in which youth express their frustrations with work.In the final segment, we commemorate the 30th anniversary of two tragic factory fires in 1993: the Kader Fire in Nakhon Pathom (Thailand) and the Zhili Fire in Shenzhen (China). We reflect on the similarities in their aftermath and the international solidarity actions and networks that emerged in response.
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In this episode, we present a two-part conversation on labour in post-coup Myanmar. More than two years after the coup, how has the labour movement fared? We spoke with labour activists Ma San and Ko Maung about organising garment workers and delivery riders, how activists navigate opportunities and constraints after the coup, and what workers can do to build sustainable and democratic organisation. In addition, we asked Stephen Campbell, a longtime researcher of labour in Myanmar at Nanyang Technological University, to sketch out political questions that are contentious within the labour movement. We end with a chat between Kiang and Kevin about a recent meeting on delivery riders in Bangkok, Thailand.
Suggested Reading:
Ko Maung: "Horizons of Labor Organizing in Post-Coup Myanmar: Grab Riders on Strike", https://labourreview.org/grab-in-myanmar/
Stephen Campbell:"In Post-Coup Myanmar, Workers Assert Workplace Democracy amid Suspension of Electoral Rule", https://labourreview.org/in-post-coup-myanmar-workers-assert-workplace-democracy-amid-suspension-of-electoral-rule/
Stephen Campbell: Along the Integral Margin: Uneven Development in a Myanmar Squatter Settlement (Cornell 2022), https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501764882/along-the-integral-margin/
Ma Cheria: "Striking Against All Odds", https://labourreview.org/strike-in-myanmar/
Ma Cheria: "“Fight on Our Own and Build Solidarity”: A Conversation with Ma Tin Tin Wai of Federation of General Workers in Myanmar", https://labourreview.org/fight-on-our-own/
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In this episode, we present a two-part conversation on labour in post-coup Myanmar. More than two years after the coup, how has the labour movement fared? We spoke with labour activists Ma San and Ko Maung about organising garment workers and delivery riders, how activists navigate opportunities and constraints after the coup, and what workers can do to build sustainable and democratic organisation. In addition, we asked Stephen Campbell, a longtime researcher of labour in Myanmar at Nanyang Technological University, to sketch out political questions that are contentious within the labour movement. We end with a chat between Kiang and Kevin about a recent meeting on delivery riders in Bangkok, Thailand.
Suggested Reading:
Ko Maung: "Horizons of Labor Organizing in Post-Coup Myanmar: Grab Riders on Strike", https://labourreview.org/grab-in-myanmar/
Stephen Campbell:"In Post-Coup Myanmar, Workers Assert Workplace Democracy amid Suspension of Electoral Rule", https://labourreview.org/in-post-coup-myanmar-workers-assert-workplace-democracy-amid-suspension-of-electoral-rule/
Stephen Campbell: Along the Integral Margin: Uneven Development in a Myanmar Squatter Settlement (Cornell 2022), https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501764882/along-the-integral-margin/
Ma Cheria: "Striking Against All Odds", https://labourreview.org/strike-in-myanmar/
Ma Cheria: "“Fight on Our Own and Build Solidarity”: A Conversation with Ma Tin Tin Wai of Federation of General Workers in Myanmar", https://labourreview.org/fight-on-our-own/
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We interview Chie Matsumoto about the progress and challenges of women media workers organizing against sexual harassment in Japan.
Centering around recent successes of journalists speaking out against predatory behaviours, the conversation touches on addressing sexual harassment as a workplace issue, solidarity building, the culture of male domination in the media profession and labor union, underrepresentation of casualized women workers, and future of the labour movement in Japan.
Chie Matsumoto is a union organizer and a journalist at media cooperative Unfiltered and an adjunct media instructor in the Faculty of Law at Hosei University in Japan.
For more, visit: labourreview.org
