Continent of Resistance

Whither Asia's Labor Movements?

In the final episode of this series, 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.

Whither Asia's Labor Movements?

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.

Repression, Adaption and New Directions (2010s)

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.

Uprise and Unity amid Global Upheaval (2000s-2010s)

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.

Democratization, Political Reforms and Organized Labor (2000s)

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.