This insightful book ventures into a part of the global economy rarely witnessed by Western observers.
Millions of Burmese women migrate into Thailand each year to form the basis of the Thai agricultural and manufacturing workforce.
Un-documented and unregulated, this army of migrant workers constitutes the ultimate 'disposable' labour force, enduring gruelling working conditions and much aggression from the Thai police and immigration authorities. This insightful book ventures into a part of the global economy rarely witnessed by Western observers.
Based on unique empirical research, it provides the reader with a gendered account of the role of women migrant workers in Thailand's factories and interrogates the ways in which they manage their families and their futures.
This book reveals the hidden face of Thailand's industrial and migration policies by giving visibility and voice to Burmese female migrants employed in the country's ready-made garment and knitwear factories. The authors shine the spotlight, not only on the women's work experiences on the factory floor, but also on the way they juggle care responsibilities for their children. It is a compelling story about ordinary women making hard decisions under precarious conditions as they live transborder lives.
