Where the Story Begins

Whether industrialisation in Southeast Asia would have commenced without colonialisation is a subject for social historians. The fact remains that by the turn of this century, all countries in Southeast Asia except Thailand were colonised by western powers. During the colonial period, these countries maintained an economy based on agriculture, though much shaped to the needs of the colonialists. Cash crops and other raw materials were exported to overseas market. Small scale manufacturing industry were developed only to fulfill the consumption needs of the ruling elites while the majority of the indigenous population continue to live on subsistence farming, producing for immediate consumption. During this time, women's role was confined to home, but not only to the rearing of children and doing household chores. She played a significant part also in the production of food and fulfilling other consumption needs of the family.

Western form of industrial production grew slowly and had not replaced the traditional subsistence production until after the Second World War when the USA took over the patronage in the region. The first period of industrialisation took the form of "import substitution" when machines and other means of production were imported and consumer goods were produced for local consumption. However the import substitution industrial policy failed to improve the economic situation of the people because, firstly, the industry that was introduced during this period was highly mechanised and capital-intensive; secondly, local consumption was low because of poverty as a result of the decline of agricukural production in the rural areas. During this period, men migrated to the urban areas in search of jobs while women were left behind to take care of the daily needs of the children and the elderly. Urban migration of women did not begin until the introduction of the "export-oriented" industrialisation strategy 

Cheung Choi Wan completed her internship with Idoc International under the Frontier Internship in Mission in 1984. She has worked with the Committee for Asian Women doing documentation and publication work.
The Export-Oriented Industrialisation Strategy

The Export-Oriented Industrialisation Strategy

The adoption of the export-oriented industrial policy of Southeast Asian countries (and earlier of the East Asian countries) coincide with the restructuring of the international division of labour. With the introduction of electronics technology, industries in western countries have been undergoing a process of automation. The labour-intensive phase of industrial production is relegated to Third World countries where the multinational corporations profit from the abundant supply of cheap unemployed labour. For the government of Southeast Asian countries, it is an immediate way to provide employment and to bring in foreign currencies to repay foreign debts.

In 1968, the Malaysian government passed the Investment Incentives Act. With the implementation of the Act began the export-oriented production era of Malaysia. Foreign investors were encouraged to invest and produce for export in Malaysia. In 1970, the Ministry of Labour amended the law prohibiting female employment at night. Since then there has been a big influx of foreign investment in electronic industry wherein young women are employed to work at night shift. In 1971 and 1972, the Free Trade Zone Act and the Free Trade Zone Regulations were approved respectively. The first Free Trade Zone (also known as Export Processing Zone in other countries) was established in Bayan Lepas in 1972. By 1980, there were 8 Free Trade Zones in Malaysia occupying a total area of 342 hectares. It was estimated that by early 1980's, there were 70,000 workers employed in the Zones the majority of whom were women.¹

The foreign companies in the Free Trade Zone are provided numerous incentives and facilities. They are usually exempted from import tax, enjoy low land rent. No restrictions are placed on the repatriation of profit back to their mother countries. Most important of all, they are guaranteed cheap and docile female labour. As a result of the export-oriented policy and the establishment of Free Trade Zones, women employees in the manufacturing industry increased sharply since the seventies. In 1970, women accounted for only 28.98% of the employees in the manufacturing industry in Malaysia. By 1976, it had increased to 41.33%.²

In 1972, immediately after Philippine President Marcos declared Martial Law, a Four-Year Development program was formulated, based on the strategy of export-oriented industrialisation. Exports increased rapidly together with the rise of foreign investments. Between 1970 and 1975, total Philippine exports increased by US$1.23 billion with the manufacturing industry increasing by over 400%.³ Garments industry which employed mainly women workers became one of the fastest growing industry and by 1976, it ranked as the fourth largest in dollar terms of all Philippine exports. Electronics was the second fastest growing manufacturing industry after the garment industry.

In 1984, 9.9% of the total labour force in the Philippines was employed in the manufacturing industry.⁴ An estimate puts women's participation in the manufacturing industry as 37% - 45%. It was reported that in the garment and electronic industries alone, there are over 75,000 women workers.⁵ At the same time. Export Processing Zones were established all over the Philippines offering foreign investors attractive incentives, including the permission of 100% foreign ownership, exemption from export tax, free importation of raw materials, machineries and equipment.

Both Thailand and Indonesia took a similar course. Employment of women in export-oriented manufacturing industries increased rapidly. In Thailand, in 1981 the total labour force in the manufacturing industry was 1,741,600, of which 44.2% was women.⁶ In Indonesia, according to the Manpower Minister Sudomo, 17.2 million of the labour force is women, among which 2.9 million is in the urban area.⁷ In 1985, a total of 1,902,288 women are employed in the manufacturing industry, one-third of whom aged between 10 and 34 and 50% aged between 35 and 39.⁸ 

Migration of Young, Rural Women into Cities

Since the colonial period, peasants have been losing their land to new settlers. Imported food crops displace the indigenous agricultural production and export-oriented agribusiness replace food crop production in the rural areas in the Southeast Asian countries. With their land lost to big plantation and to "development projects", the peasants become landless labourers and wage labour replace subsistence production. Cash earning become so substantial and central even to rural family that young women follow the steps of their fathers and brothers.

According to various reports, migration of women to urban centres increase at a more rapid pace than male in the seventies. A study of Dr. Khoo Siew Fan of the Australian National University reveals that during this period, in the age group of 15-19 of the population in Thailand and Indonesia, female migrants to the urban centres outnumbered males.⁹ This group of young migrant women become part of the cheap labour reserve force in the urban centres of Southeast Asia.

There are three groups of women who move to the cities and become part of the industrial labour force. The first group of women have received basic education, and who might have completed primary school or even secondary education. With dreams of a bright future, they have come to the "Dream City" (Manila, capital city of the Philippines). The second group of young women are often barely out of their teenage and come from very poor rural family. They were sold to recruiting agencies by their parents for a lump sum of money and are then assigned to work for various employers, often from morning till night. The above two groups of young women workers become major cash earners in the family in order to support their younger brothers and sisters' further education. Sometimes the savings they send home also support the family's adoption of urban pattern of consumption. It was reported that in West Malaysia, women workers provide an average of 18% of their family income.'°

The third group of women migrated to the cities with their husbands. Very often they end up in the squatters areas with the family, and strive hard to improve their livelihood by working as outworkers, part-time workers or even full-time workers in factories. When they work as out workers or part-time workers, their wages are lower than regular workers and enjoy none of the usual benefits.

The women who have come to the urban centres usually find jobs as domestic workers in middle class families, as salesgirls, hairdressers and in other services. However a majority of young women also find jobs in small garments factories, or in big, modern electronic firms in the Free Trade Zones. It is this latter group of women workers in the manufacturing industry that we want to discuss in this article.

Situation and Common Issues of the Industrial Women Workers

The industrial women workers are certainly a new force in the Southeast Asian countries. The concrete situation of the women workers must be recognised, their common problems identified before a new strategy of organisation can be developed so that the industrial women workers can be a force by itself and for itself. Here below we try to identify some common problems faced by the industrial women workers in Southeast Asia.

Repressive labour legislation

The Southeast Asian countries are mostly under military governments who spend billions of dollars in armaments and defense each year. The same governments maintain tight control over labour organisation and restrict actions of the workers. In Malaysia, a bill called the Society Act was passed in 1982 according to which all non-governmental organisations came under strict surveillance. At the same time, the Malaysian government has consistently refused to permit the Electrical Industry Workers Union (EIWU) to organise electronic women workers in the FTZ. Among the reasons quoted by the government in rejecting EIWU's demand was "that allowing the electronics workers to be unionised by an established union, the EIWU, would create a discentive for foreign investors in this field, who might leave the country. . .". In fact when the government finally allow the workers to unionise in 1984, a number of multinational corporations expressed concern. Some even threatened to pull out of the country.¹¹

In Indonesia, all organisations must pledge loyalty to the ideology of Pancasila (National Development). Under the rule of Pancasila, any action or organisation which is seen as upsetting the national stability is repressed. The Indonesian Manpower Minister has, in fact, suggested that the government would punish strikers by cutting their wages. The reason given was that any strike or industrial action disturb the country's stability and obstruct its development.'¹²  For the same reason, the Philippine government declares all strikes illegal in strategic industries which includes all export-oriented industries. In 1984, after a series of strikes in the Bataan Export Processing Zones, the Marcos government issued a new law banning strikes in all Export Processing Zones.

In Thailand, the government and the employers use different ways to control the workers' organisations including firing the workers who have joined the trade unions and the killing of trade union leaders.

Low Wages

The wages of the industrial women workers in Southeast Asia is not only comparatively lower than women employed in other jobs, they are also paid lower than their male counterparts in the same industries. In the Philippines, it was found that women factory workers usually receive only 61.3% of what the male workers receive.'¹³ Although the government has sanctioned a minimum wages of US$2.6/day for workers, over half of the women factory workers are earning less than the minimum wages. They are women who are employed as apprentices. A study in 1980 found that a regular worker in the Bataan Export Processing Zone received an average daily wage of US$3.63 including all fringe benefits. A trainee received only US$1.37.'¹⁴ They were not granted any form of fringe benefits.

In Malaysia, according to report in 1980,87.7% of the women workers received a a monthly payment of US$150 - US$374. Only 29.7% of the male workers receive the equivalent payment. On the other hand, 55.2% of the male workers received monthly payment of US$375 - US$599 while only 3.5% of the women workers received the similar amount.¹⁵

The reason of women workers being lower paid than men is that women workers tend to concentrate in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs while men are the foremen, supervisors, technicians and skilled workers. The ideology of men being the main breadwinner of the family also contributes to women being less paid than men, even in the same kind of jobs.

In reality the wages of the majority of the industrial women workers in Southeast Asia is often hardly enough even to maintain their own living. Since many women workers have left their family and are all alone in the cities, they have to pay their own rent and to provide themselves all the basic necessities. At the same time, they have to save up money to send it back to their family. This often creates pressure on the women and forces them into getting loans which can never be repaid. For this reason, many women have to resort to prostitution.

In cases where the women workers are married, the earnings of their husbands are usually not enough to support the whole family. The earnings of the women is therefore a necessary contribution to the family, and not just a supplement. Despite these realities, women continue to be regarded as second class, and therefore lower paid workers. The explanation for this can only be found in the patriarchal mentality that permeates in the Southeast Asian countries. Woman's place is at home. When she has to work outside of the family, it is only temporary and transitional. The entrepreneurs are quick in exploiting this mentality by granting women the lowest wages and thus reinforcing the patriarchal mentality. "However much she earns is not enough to support the family!" A man would reason when he wants the woman to go back to the kitchen.

Long Working Hours

Women work long hours in the manufacturing industry. Though most of the Southeast Asian governments have ratified the Labour Convention of the International Labour Organisation which sanctions 48 hours/week as the maximum working hours, we find women workers in these countries often working up to 55-60 hours/week, with or without government's approval. Many women agree to work overtime because of the need to earn more, which is in turn a result of the low basic wages received by the majority of the industrial women workers. Still it is not infrequent to find women workers protesting against forced overtime work.

Adding to the long working hours in the factories is the responsibility to feed the family and to take care of household chores. The pressure is particularly harsh for married women. While a husband after 10 hours of work each day comes home and rest, a woman often has to do another 5-6 hours of work after she returns from the factory. This not only damages the health of the woman, but also inhibits her from participating in trade union activities.

Lack of Job Security

Women workers are more vulnerable to unemployment, especially in times of recession. According to official statistics, in the Philippines unemployment rate among women is 7.7% while for men is 5%.₁₆ The Centre for Women Resources based in Manila judged the situation more severely. According to them, for one unemployed men in the Philippines, there are 7 unemployed women. Two basic factors contribute to the lack of job security for industrial women workers in Southeast Asia:

i) Concentration of women workers in a few export-oriented industries, such as the textile and garment industry, the electronic industry and the food processing industry. These industries are all very vulnerable to any fluctuation in the export market. Between January and 6th March 1984, 72% of the total workers laid off in the Philippines were employees of the manufacturing industry, accounting for a total of 19,866 workers.'¹⁷ The textile and garment industry was one of the hardest hit industry.

ii) Concentration of women workers in semi-skilled and unskilled jobs such as assembling, packing and sewing, the skill of which can be acquired within a matter of months or even weeks. In fact, quickness of hands and sharpness of eyes are usually required for this type of job. This quality is found among younger women. Therefore the management prefers to replace older women with new workers in order to maintain high labour productivity. The vulnerability of the women workers to unemployment has created a condition wherein the women workers are often forced to give in to the sexual demands of their male superiors. "Lay down or lay off - goes the saying in the Philippines, symbolising the double exploitation (economic and sexual) of the industrial women workers.

Non-implementation of protective legislation

Even though protective legislation are provided in most of the countries, the governments have not made much effort to enforce the law. Women workers continue to be threatened for refusing to work overtime. Women workers are laid off when found pregnant. On the other hand, the protective legislation is often cited by the management as reasons to maintain lower wages of women workers.

Work Pressure and Industrial Health

Work pressure and working environment contribute to the faltering health of women employed in industries. Quota system is a common practice in both the garment industry and the electronic industry. Women workers are required to meet production quota which is raised regularly. Women who fail to meet the quota are warned. If she continues to fail to meet the quota, she would be fired.

Adding to the pressure at work is the household chores at home. Work pressure and fatigue results in accidents which could have been avoided.

There are also factors which affect the health of women workers and can be hardly detected until the workers sustain severe health damage. In the textile industry, fibre dust is only one of the well known factors leading to respiratory disease among textile workers. In the electronic industry, workers have to work with toxic chemicals which is known to lead to at least one terminal case in the Philippines. Elfreda Castellan, a young woman of 22, after working for 4 years in Dynetics Inc. died of lymphoma and/or aplastic anemia which was believed to have resulted from her contact with toxic substances in the work place.'¹⁸

 Most of the unions in the Southeast Asian countries are only concerned about maintaining wages and employment. Few have considered the need to control and improve the working environment of the workers, and still less to inform the women workers of the dangers associated with her work. And even if the women know about the danger, they have little choice of another job in which their health would be protected. The health of the workers can only be guaranteed by an organised effort of the workers.

Living Conditions

Many industrial women workers are young, single women who have come to the cities by themselves. Some of them live in dormitories provided by the factories, some live in hostels, some rent a room and share it with other women, some simply rent a bed space.

The women workers usually live in very crowded conditions and can hardly rest well, especially when they have to work in night shift and sleep in the day time. Many young women desire to further their education during their spare time, but their living condition also make it difficult for them to fulfill their wishes. Some women who live in dormitory do not even have their own bed. They have to share a bed with another worker who work in a different shift. Other facilities are also lacking. Adding to their disappointments and frustrations at work is the loneliness they feel, being far away from home and from their families.

Under-representation in Trade Unions

Despite women's rapidly increasing participation in the industrial labour force in Southeast Asia, they are still under-represented in their trade unions. In Malaysia, according to the Labour and Manpower Report 1981/82, female union membership increased from 124,242 in 1978 to 140,293. However, this number represents only 26.5% of total union membership. At the end of 1982, out of a total 816 trade union leaders, only 35 were women.

Among reasons cited for female's low participation in trade union activities in Malaysia is male's domination at home and at work. To join trade union, a women worker has first to seek approval from her husband. Women in unions also complain of trade union leaders not giving enough attention to women's problem especially in relation to equal rights and opportunities, and equal participation in decision making.

In Thailand, although the majority of the workers in the garment factories are women, few of them join the trade unions. Among those who have joined the trade union, few of them are elected to become union officials. When they do become active in trade unions, women usually "perform less streneous work as hold the register, do the accounts, cook and does general work in their daily meeting."¹⁹

Discussion

Some academics suggested that women's increasing industrial employment in Third World countries marked women's advancement towards economic independence and paved the way to women's final liberation. Others suggested that industrialisation and urbanisation reinforced women's traditional role in reproduction by further dividing modern life into public sphere and private sphere.

According to this writer, although women are increasingly employed in industrial production, the problems faced by women workers highlighted above show that women are only placed in a marginal position in the present form of industrial production in Southeast Asia. Under the export-oriented industrialisation strategy, the entrepreneurs (especially the multinational corporations) can profit only by maintaining a lower-paid, unorganised and "flexible" female labour force in the Third World countries. To maintain such kind of female labour force, the traditional, ideal role of women in the family has to be reinforced inspite of the disparity in real life condition.

Despite the fact that men workers are also exploited under the same economic structure, women workers are doubly exploited because of her sex. In other words, because women workers are not recognised as producers equal to men workers, their double or even triple exploitation are accepted even by their male counterparts. Therefore in their struggle to improve their working condition, the industrial women workers must fight as equal partners of men workers. The rights of women workers must first be recognised as equal to men workers before they can be truly partners in their strive towards a truly just and peaceful society.

Footnotes

1. Ishak Shari and Tok Kin Woon, Industrialisation Process in Malaysia: A Historical Perspective with Particular Reference to Free Trade Zones, Faculty of Economics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 1983.

2. Jamilah Affrin, Women Workers in the Manufacturing Industries, "Malaysian Women: Problems and Issues", Consumers Association of Penang, Malaysia, 1983.

3. Enrico Paglaban, Philippines: Workers in the Export Industry, "Pacific Research", Vol. IX, Nos. 3 & 4, March-June 1978, Pacific Studies Center, USA.

4. Philippine Trade Unionism: A Situationer, "Philippine Labour Monitor", Vol. 1, No. 2, 2nd Quarter, 1985, Institute for Labour Research and Documentation, Philippines.

5. Local source.

6. Women Workers in Thailand and its Relations to the Justice and Peace Commission of Thailand's Activities, Justice and Peace Commission of Thailand, 1984.

7. "Asia Labour Monitor", IN-1-002, Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong. 

8. Local source.

9. "Asia Labour Monitor", AR-1-004, Asia Monitor Resource Centre, Hong Kong.

10. Susan E. Ackerman, The Impact of Industrialisation on the Social Role of Rural Malay Women.

11. "Asia Labour Monitor", EL-MY-1-001, Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong.

12. "Asia Labour Monitor", IN-1-001, Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong.

13. The End is the Beginning: Alternative Philippine Report on The Impact of the Decade for Women (1976-1985), The Philippine Women's Research Collective, July 1985.

14. Social and Labour Practices of Multinational Enterprise In the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industries, ILO, 1984.

15. Working Women in Malaysia: Some Basic Statistics, "Nohd Bulletin", Malaysia, Nov. 1983.

16. National Census and Statistics Office, 3rd Quarter, 1984, quoted in Philippine Trade Unionism: A Situationer.

17. The Philippine Labour Situation: Selected Statistics 1984, Center for Labour Studies, Philippines, June 1984.

18. Tales of Filipino Women Workers, Committee For Asian Women, Hong Kong, 1984.

19. See Footnote 6.