Labour conditions in many East Asian countries are often poor; stories of abuses are commonly reported in the press. It would seem that local laws frequently do not provide much assistance to workers. Is this because the laws themselves are inadequate, or because laws exist only 'on the books' and have little practical effect? This edited collection examines the labour laws of seven industrializing East Asian societies - China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, The Philippines and Vietnam - and discusses the variation in their impact across the whole region. Leading scholars from each country consider both laws pertaining to working conditions and industrial relations, and those that regulate the labour market as a whole. Legislation concerning migrant labour, gender equality, employment creation and skills formation is also looked at. Adopting their own distinct theoretical perspectives, the authors of the country studies trace the historical development of labour regulation and reveal that most countries in the region now have quite extensive frameworks. An introductory chapter provides an overview of relevant literature from law and other social sciences.
This book will be particularly useful to people interested in the place of labour law, and law in general, in contemporary East Asian societies.