Women’s
Industrial Work Conditions and the Changes of Family
Relationship : A Case Study of Northern Thailand
VARUNEE PURISINSIT
BENJA JIRAPATPIMOL
Introduction
Female labour employment has become hotly debate issue and,
subsequently, attracted increased attention, particularly in Third World
countries. In Thailand the proportion of female labour in the labour
market is the highest in Asia and one of the highest in the world (Suvanee,
1977). According to the National Statistics Office (1985), of the total
number of 6,291,400 industrial workers all over the country, there were
3,830,700 (60.9%) male workers and 2,460,700 or 39.1% female ones, with
54.2%, working in the manufacturing industry, being men’s workers and
45.8% women’s workers. The trend is clearly rising particularly given
the governments’ policy toward industrialization. Expansion and growth
in the industrial sector, in turn, requires more women’s workers to
along side with the male counterparts in almost every industries.
As a consequence, female labour in
industries in its own right and of necessity requires serious and
in-depth academic investigation because it constitutes a rather new
phenomenon in still predominantly agricultural Thai society. As a social
entity, we are pretty much in need of information on human resources
utilization in an industrial context.
Conceptual Framework
This study is grounded on the concept that Thailand must follow
the policy path to industrialization and encourage industrial investment
in all regions of the country. As a consequence, more and more women
enter the industrial labour market prompting the need to better
understand women’s industrial work conditions as well as their impact
upon the women’s families. The study concentrates on 3 types of
industries : food, garments and electronics, because these industries
primarily employ women. It covers 3 provinces, Lampang, Lamphun and
Chiang Mai, the areas in which most industrial factories are located.
Review of Related Literature
Industrial Development in the
Upper North Region
The Upper North Region comprises 9 provinces, namely, Mae Hong
Son, Chiangrai, Phayao, Chiang Mai, Lumphun, Lampang, Nan, Phrae and Tak.
It is endowed with natural resources and labour sufficient for various
types of industrial development such as jewelry and ornaments, textile
and finished garments, processed produce and fruits, wood-carving,
antique products making, ceramics and artificial flowers (Northern
Region Development Center, 1992). Therefore, given the above-mentioned
industrialization policy, Lamphun province has been selected as site for
the Northern Region Industrial Estate (NRIE). There are 86 industrial
factories in the NRIE and others scattered around the region with the
highest number, 448, in Chiang Mai province, with 14,306 workers. Next
to Chiang Mai, Lampang has 404 industrial factories with 4,823 workers
while Lamphun registers 136 factories but with 5,240 industrial workers
(TDRI, 1989).
Traditional Role of Thai Women
Studies on women’s roles in Thai society, especially in rural
or agriculture-based areas reveal that married women are primarily
responsible for house keeping, cooking and child care. Besides,
they’re also engaged in production activities for household
consumption. During farming season women worked all day in the fields
and, at the same time, had to be responsible for food-related matters as
well. During the dry season they hauled fruits to the local market for
sale (Potter, 1977). In agriculture-based production activity women
played a key role, e.g., working on the farm during production season or
earning extra income during off-farm period via selling fruits and
vegetables at local markets or taking other odd wage-earning jobs during
bad farming season (Hanks and Hanks, 1963). Women worked so hard from
dawn to dusk in the fields. Their heavy work load tended to decrease
during pregnancy and after delivery, however. At home they were
responsible for most housework (Amara et al., 1987).
Research Methodology
The study relied on both quantitative and qualitative approaches
with the former being used when dealing with factory work conditions
while the latter family members’ relationships. Resulting outcomes
from the two approaches were then synthesized to form answers to the
established questions.
Research findings
Almost all Female workers in the three types of industries, i.e.,
food, garments and electronics, came from agriculture-based families.
The proportions of married and single workers were equally divided. But
once viewed industry by industry, it was found that more than half of
those in food and garments industries were married while there existed
the greatest number of single workers in electronics who, on the
average, were also the youngest and most educated. This was accounted
for by the fact that this type of industry required good eyesight.
Therefore, factories would not and did not recruit workers who were over
25 years of age. They also needed workers with relatively higher level
of education, e.g., Mathayom Suksa 3 graduates (10 years in schooling).
As regards wages it was found that, on
the average, workers received minimum wages required by law. However, it
is interesting to note that workers across the industries received
similar wages, when all extraearnings were calculated, despite the fact,
for example, that the electronics industry recruited workers with more
education. This was so because employers primarily set the wage by the
legally established minimum wage rate rather than other qualifications
such as educational background and past experience. The fact that most
factories adopt this principle as their employment policy and apply it
across the board can be considered a contradiction to the country’s
efforts toward sound and fair industrial development. Applying the
principle in this manner does not constitute a motivation for workers to
improve and upgrade their work skills. At the same time, it undermines
the free labour market and is not conducive of labour competitiveness,
the very atmosphere likely to bring about negative effects on
Thailand’s future industrial development efforts.
As regards a much talked-about matter of
factory work-related health conditions it was revealed that more than
half of the workers did not feel they were terribly sick. Minor
illnesses reported were headaches, stomach problems, digestive system
troubles, muscular sores, etc., some of which might have been related to
work. However, it is interesting to note that 1/4 of electronics workers
reported having eye-related problems.
Although development planners attach
great importance to industrialization citing as reasons more work for
the people and better income than in agriculture. At the same time,
rural youngsters seem to enter factories with enthusiasm. However, are
they really satisfied with the factory work? Findings in this study did
not really answer yes to this question. It is true that most women’s
workers were happy with fixed, stable cash income. Nevertheless, they
complained that they had to stand for a long period of time, exercised a
lot of eyesight, worked like a machine against time, had no or little
time of their own, had to strictly observe factory rules and
regulations, etc. Only a few of them reported that factory work was
good, indoor and allowed them opportunities to know lots of friends.
Most of them, however, did not intend to work in factory for long or on
a permanent basis. They would stop working when aged between 38-44. They
said they would not be able to work after that age. If given other
non-factory work choices, most of them would prefer self-employed
trading activities. None wanted to be a farmer or an agriculturist
because agriculture, according to them, generated no fixed or stable
income, was not cost-effective and would put them in debt.
Changed Family Relationships
Traditionally, while still living with their parents, girls or young
women helped them do the farm work and other family activities such as
searching for products and produce to sell at the local market or
weaving cloths for sale. Once married, women continued to engage in
agriculture but obviously with additional burdens, e.g., house keeping
and cooking for their husbands and, later, child care. Farm work was
somewhat reduced while they tended to their young children. Husbands
took a small part in child rearing and housework. During the dry season
and when free from farm work husbands took to the forest in search of
forest products or went away looking for work and additional income.
They had little time for the family and children especially those with
rather poor families. Obviously, both husband and wife had to work hard
all the time. The latter shouldered another crucial burden taking care
of many children, due to the non-existence of birth control measures,
and simultaneously doing other additional tasks for more income.
However, when looked at in detail, it was found that agriculture-based
life was rather flexible. When wives were pregnant or had young babies,
they stopped hard work and stayed home. Once the children grew older,
they were able to take them along to the fields. Given such conditions,
children got to spend a lot of time with their parents. Whenever their
mothers went somewhere, they had to go along. Leaving them with grand
parents or relatives was done only when necessary. Being constantly
around their parents afforded them opportunities to learn and
internalize their parents’ ways of life including values and beliefs.
All these things changed once the women entered industrial factories.
What later happened was that the women
had less time at home. They had to leave for work early in the morning
and returned home at dusk. They had to work 6 days a week and many of
those days work overtime. Even given this additional routine work, they
still had to shoulder most housework such as cooking, house cleaning,
washing and ironing, taking leaves of absence when children were sick,
etc. What this phenomenon actually says is that even given rapid
socio-economic changes and that women have become full-time wage earners
to help support the family just like their husbands, deeply held social
traditions such as doing housework is a women’s duty, still haven’t
kept pace with social reality. Therefore, women still continue
shouldering heavy responsibilities, probably heavier than those they had
earlier carried in traditional agriculture-based families.
As regards relationships in other
dimensions such as those between husband and working wife, particularly
on decision-making power, it was found that the pattern was not much
different from the past. The wife still got a hold of family purse. If
expenditures involved household utensils/appliances, she was still a
final decision maker. But if they involved agricultural tools, it was
the husband. Whether or not to buy common items such as television,
refrigerator or motorcycle was a matter to be jointly decided. Things
like these were not in abundance in the olden days. Thus, it is possible
to say that the wife had larger area of decision-making power than in
the past. Decisions regarding their children were also equally made.
Most wives also were primarily responsible for matters related to family
planning or birth control. They felt it was their duty to practice birth
control, the very feeling continuously passed on from their own mothers,
elder sisters or friends.
When mother-child relationships were
considered in comparison with the situation whereby the mother primarily
worked in agriculture, it was found that she had less time for and with
her baby. The latter spent more time with relatives. And when the child
turned one year and a half or two he/she was sent to a nursery, a low
quality kind at that. And when the child returned home from school, the
mother almost had no time left for it. She usually returned rather late
in the evening and, once home, had to do a lot of housework. For those
working overtime, the time the mothers returned home was the time their
children were sleeping. Given all these conditions, it is quite
difficult, if not totally impossible, for those children to enjoy the
previously warm and loving relationships and internalize traditional
ways of life and values transmitted down from earlier generations.
A lot of women working in factories has
become an inevitable fact of life, so have the changed mother-child
relationships discussed above. Therefore, it is urgently imperative that
society instill new values in the fathers as regards their crucial role
and in order for them to participate more in the child rearing process
to compensate for the mothers’ lost time. Not less important or
imperative is that existing nurseries or child care places must be
urgently improved qualitywise. At the same time, factory owners must
take it as part of their responsibilities to make available and absorb
expenses for quality child care places for their employees. As things
stand now, they take no part in this matter and the practice of allowing
maternity leaves with pay is almost non-existent. The government itself
also pays very minimal attention to children’s development work judged
from the existing low-quality child care centers, their buildings,
materials and equipment as well as personnel despite the fact that
children spend most of their time in them.
Summary
From the study we can generally say that rural industrial promotion
efforts requiring primarily female labour certainly bring about cash
income for rural families. Obviously, it generates a certain degree of
purchasing power and material comfort. At the same time, the existence
of industrial factories in the rural areas effectively deters local
women’s migration to other provinces such as Bangkok. However,
positive gains constitute trade-offs for the women’s workers’
increased hard work in order to generate sufficient income. This is
because their wages are not high enough to really afford them decent
work and living. Therefore, they have to work more hours for additional
income. Besides, their welfare is still not very good, thus, making them
insecure in their jobs. Therefore, they must work hard in order to save
a certain amount of capital now for their own future endeavors. This
kind of overwork inevitably affects their health in the long run and
there exist no guarantees of any assistance in case something endangers
their health. This is even not to include those health problems caused
by various toxic chemicals.
The trade-off, of course, is not only
the women’s sweat and drudgeries. What is also considerably affected
is the growth process of some Thai children who may, otherwise, grow up
to be quality human beings. Working mothers obviously get to spend very
little time with their children. The children have to be placed in
nurseries since an early age. Worse still, existing nurseries are
usually of low quality depriving the children of natural parental warmth
and loving care, opportunities to learn and absorb valuable beliefs and
lessons about rural life from their parents and grand parents as well as
quality skill development opportunities. These obvious losses never
feature in the thoughts of industrial developmentalists. Or if they ever
happen to do somewhat feature in their thoughts, they never propose ways
and means to correct the wrongs and compensate for such losses.
* This
research was done in 1994, supported financially by the Hitachi
Scholarship Foundation.
** Associate
and Assistant Professors at Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
Chiangmai University, Thailand.
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