Public spaces as the “centre of social struggle”: how do low-wage, unemployed Bangladeshi migrant workers perceive and use public spaces in Singapore?

• Main Author: See, Marilyn
• Other Authors: Chou Meng-Hsuan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Social Sciences
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/175981
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The issue of Singapore’s heavy reliance on low-wage migrant labour has engendered academic discourse surrounding migrant workers’ living conditions, labour rights and healthcare access. Despite the growing importance of urban spatialities and mobilities in this age of transnational migration, considerably less research has examined how migrant workers’ heightened precarity may affect their participation in urban life. As such, this qualitative study draws on primary research to investigate the following: how do low wage, unemployed Bangladeshi migrant workers perceive and use public spaces in Singapore? This study seeks to analyse how public spaces are sites of social struggle for low-wage, unemployed migrant workers who face significant financial and job insecurity. Three main findings pertaining to the perceptions and utilisation of public spaces will be discussed: (1) migrant workers’ precarious position in society and their agency to seek belonging within public spaces, (2) Singapore’s attractiveness as a destination country, (3) the segregation between migrant workers and the wider population in public spaces.