Political diffusion through labour migration? A case study of Philippine and Indonesian migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong (original) (raw)

Abstract

In this talk I will argue that labor migration can lead to the formation of transnational political spaces in which political attitudes, advocacy, organizing strategies, framing of political issues and existing political cleavages can be diffused. This process might be aggravated if the migration is circular in nature. The case study is based on the political advocacy of migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong: over the past three decades, domestic workers from the Philippines have founded numerous NGOs, social movement unions and grassroots organizations. After the split of the Philippine left in the early 1990s, many of these organizations have formed two distinctive clusters along the political cleavages originating from the home country. Indonesian domestic worker organizations, although being “latecomers” to Hong Kong and stemming from a different political background, have increasingly aligned themselves along these cleavages as well. This development has significant repercussions on the regional and global level of migrant activism.

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