Gendered Labour, Everyday Security and Migration: An Examination of Domestic Work and Domestic Workers’ Experiences in Singapore and Hong Kong

Description

Drawing on original empirical research from Singapore and Hong Kong, Gendered Labour, Everyday Security and Migration interrogates women migrant domestic workers’ experiences of work and workplace exploitation. It examines the ways in which these women negotiate everyday security and safe work against the backdrop of affective employment relations and institutional structures of labour and migration law. It challenges the current emphasis on the language of exploitation and legal approaches to identifying, understanding and rectifying poor employment conditions for women migrant domestic workers. This book addresses the limited research literature that examines the extent to which regulatory or criminal justice responses are relevant to, and utilised by, women migrant domestic workers in their everyday negotiation of safe work and offers a unique contribution to the field. An accessible and compelling read, it will be of interest to researchers from across the fields of criminology, sociology, labour migration studies and women’s studies. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Figures Tables Series Editor Introduction Acknowledgements Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction: Women Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore and Hong Kong Research Process: Designing the Study Access and Recruitment Negotiating Researcher Reflexivity and Power Dynamics Translating, Interpreting and Presenting the Participants' Voices Migration and Domestic Labour in Singapore and Hong Kong: Past and Present Emigration of Women into Domestic Labour: Role of the State and the Private Sector Notes References Chapter 2: Women Migrant Domestic Workers in the Home: Tensions Surrounding Intimacy and Labour Unwaged and Waged Domestic and Care Labour in the Home Domestic and Care Labour as 'Love' Work: Implications for Waged Domestic Workers Homes as Public Workplaces Employer-Domestic Worker Relationship Gender, Domestic Work and Migration: Regulatory Intersections Singapore Hong Kong Conclusion Notes References Chapter 3: Gender, Exploitation and Everyday Security Defining and Responding to Exploitation ILO Domestic Worker Convention: Recognising Domestic and Care Work as 'Real' Work Public Laws to Address 'Private' Violence against Women The Intersection of Law, Gender and Women Migrants' Security Gendering Human Security Human Security 'from Below': Drawing on Everyday Experience Conclusion Notes References Chapter 4: Women Migrant Domestic Workers and the Everyday Home Workplace Introducing the Woman Migrant Domestic Worker The Work Destination Introducing the (Female) Employer Employing a 'Stranger' in the Home: Trust, Surveillance, Control and Respect 'You Need to Be Able to Trust Her': Building Trust through Surveillance and Control Implications of Labour Migration Policies: Passports, Curfews and Pregnancies Conclusion Notes References Chapter 5: Negotiating Everyday Work and Help-Seeking Resolving Work-Related Problems: External Institutions Placement Agencies as Negotiators and Mediators Civil Society Organisations (CSOs): NGOs and Labour Unions as Secondary Sources of Support Exiting Employment: Contract Movement and 'Transfers' Negotiating Protection and Security through Formal Mechanisms Seeking Help from Authorities: Workers' Reflections The Consequences of Seeking Justice: Implications for Employment and Financial Security Motivation to Report Conclusion Notes References Chapter 6: Rethinking Gendered Labour Exploitation and Safe Work 'Exploitation' as Identified by Industry Stakeholders 'Exploitation' as Identified by Women Migrant Domestic Workers Restricted Freedom to Socialise: Social Isolation and Limitations on Communication Devices Overworking and Excessive Working Hours Working on Rest Days Verbal Abuse and Lack of Respect Fictive Kinship and Relations of Reciprocity, Respect, Trust and Empathy Strategic Deployment of Fictive Kinship Fictive Kinship, Affective Relations and Sustainable Work Unlawful or Substandard Employment Conditions When the 'Employer Is Family' Conclusion Notes References Chapter 7: Conclusion Rethinking the Parameters of 'Exploitation' Alternative Understandings of the Employer-Worker Relationship in Domestic Labour Everyday Security: Making a Case for Sustainable Labour and Livelihoods Note References Index