Labour formation, identity, and resistance in HM Dockyard, Singapore (1921-1971)
For close on half a century, the British naval dockyard in Singapore was a prominent employer in the colony. The huge facility attracted migrant workers from the region, and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/91186 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6782 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | For close on half a century, the British naval dockyard in Singapore was
a prominent employer in the colony. The huge facility attracted migrant workers
from the region, and entire settlements and communities were established around
the premises of the dockyard as well. This article seeks to place the legacy of
Singapore’s naval-base workers within the historical contexts of the entanglements
between imperialism, diaspora, social movements, and labour resistance. The
development of international labour flows, formation, and identity was reflected in
the prominence of the migrant Malayalee community and its socio-religious
organizations at the naval base. Furthermore, the routine individual defiance and
industrial unrest went beyond disputes about wage levels and working conditions.
They were enmeshed within the broader undercurrents of Singapore’s transitory
political culture, and between the interwar decades and the period of decolonization
disturbances at the naval dockyard became part of larger political contestations. |
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