Labour Migration in Southeast Asia: The Political Economy of Poor and Uneven Governance

Abstract

This chapter presents a political economy of labour migration in Southeast Asia. It delineates the importance of low-wage and high-wage labour migration to national development and individual livelihoods, then shows that its governance is predominantly shaped by the interests of employers and associated politico-bureaucratic interests, which typically overpower the struggles of migrant workers and their civil society allies. This produces a system geared around official development goals, the management of movement and the deployment of workers, rather than the promotion of workers’ rights and welfare, leaving low-wage migrants open to systematic abuse. High-wage migration regimes also support specific state projects and agendas, generating a highly uneven process of regional “liberalisation” for the ASEAN Economic Community.