Continent of Resistance

by Kevin Lin & Kriangsak Teera-Hong

Continent of Resistance features conversations about strategies of building power within Asian labour movements. We talk with grassroots organizers and researchers from across Asia, followed by highlights from the world of work in Asia. The monthly podcast is co-produced and co-hosted by Kevin Lin (Managing Editor of Asian Labour Review) and Kriangsak (Kiang) Teera-Hong (Managing Director of Just Economy and Labour Institute ... 

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Podcast episodes

  • Season 1

  • Gig Workers Rising: Grab Couriers' Self-Organization in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam (Part Two)

    Gig Workers Rising: Grab Couriers' Self-Organization in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam (Part Two)

    Part 2 of our conversation on Gig Workers Rising: Grab Couriers' Self-Organization in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam

  • Gig Workers Rising: Grab Couriers' Self-Organization in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam (Part One)

    Gig Workers Rising: Grab Couriers' Self-Organization in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam (Part One)

    One logistics and food delivery platform company, Grab, dominates almost the entirety of Southeast Asian markets. In this two-part conversation, we delve into the dynamic world of collectivization, and the emergence and development of self-organization among Grab couriers and riders in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Joining us are Toan Le and Reza Rumakat, alongside our cohost, Kiang. Our conversation touches on the prevailing conditions within the logistics and food delivery sectors in Southeast Asia, where frequent "wildcat strikes" and protests serve as primary vehicles for voicing workers' collective demands. In Part One, we look at each locality's unique economic and institutional landscapes, illuminating a clearer understanding of how gig workers are actively shaping their activism. Transitioning into the Part Two of our conversation, we dig deeper into the organizational forms and structures that have emerged within these groups before shedding light on the gender and organizational challenges present within these existing frameworks.In the final segment, Kevin shares his impressions of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) convention in Seattle in early August, and Asian-American labour organising.

  • Workers or Freelancers? Organising against Informality in Indonesia’s Media and Creative Industry

    Workers or Freelancers? Organising against Informality in Indonesia’s Media and Creative Industry

    In Asia, bright and artistic young people have pursued their passion in the media and creative industry as journalists, theater workers and musicians. Despite the space such work affords for their creativity, these are also some of the most precarious and insecure jobs, with many working from one short-term contract to the next. One union in Indonesia, SINDIKASI (the Media and Creative Industry Workers' Union for Democracy), has taken upon itself to organise these young freelancers across the industry. In this episode, we spoke with Nura Aini, the chairwoman of SINDIKASI, from Jakarta, Indonesia.Nura, a former journalist herself, shared with us her journey into labor organising, driven by a goal to address the issues faced by workers in the media and creative industry. She shed light on SINDIKASI’s unique approach in organising workers across workplaces, the union's unwavering commitment to promoting gender-based equality, and the obstacle of convincing young freelancers to recognise themselves as workers.In our co-host discussion, Kiang shared his thoughts on participating in the launch of the ASEAN Employment Outlook report, and on its findings and recommendations on regulating digital and platform work. We then briefly delved into a debate around conceptual drawbacks surrounding the formalisation of informal work resulting from digitisation and platformisation.

  • Logistics Workers Organizing and Korean Truckers’ Strikes

    Logistics Workers Organizing and Korean Truckers’ Strikes

    Logistics has become the buzzword in today's global economy. But who exactly are logistics workers, and what is the history of the logistics revolution? In this episode, we explore the world of logistics workers and their efforts to build bargaining power through organising and disruption.Our guest, Wol-san Liem, has worked for years with transport workers, previously at the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU) and now at the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). We spoke about how transport workers build their collective power based on their structural, associational and societal power. We also delved into the recent strike waves by Korean truckers, examining their strategic approaches in national campaigns and the hostile responses of the government.In the final segment, Kiang offers his thoughts on the recent general elections in Thailand and what it means for organised labour; and, Kevin shares his observations from a recent trip to the Philippines about the union movement's fight against contractualisation and repression.Further Reading:Wol-san Liem, "Resisting Labour Degradation in Korea", Asian Labour Review, May 21, 2023, https://labourreview.org/truck-drivers/

  • Labour Resilience Against Class Warfare in Myanmar - Part 2

    Labour Resilience Against Class Warfare in Myanmar - Part 2

    In this episode, we present a two-part conversation on labour in post-coup Myanmar. More than two years after the coup, how has the labour movement fared? We spoke with labour activists Ma San and Ko Maung about organising garment workers and delivery riders, how activists navigate opportunities and constraints after the coup, and what workers can do to build sustainable and democratic organisation. In addition, we asked Stephen Campbell, a longtime researcher of labour in Myanmar at Nanyang Technological University, to sketch out political questions that are contentious within the labour movement. We end with a chat between Kiang and Kevin about a recent meeting on delivery riders in Bangkok, Thailand.Suggested Reading:Ko Maung: "Horizons of Labor Organizing in Post-Coup Myanmar: Grab Riders on Strike", https://labourreview.org/grab-in-myanmar/Stephen Campbell:"In Post-Coup Myanmar, Workers Assert Workplace Democracy amid Suspension of Electoral Rule", https://labourreview.org/in-post-coup-myanmar-workers-assert-workplace-democracy-amid-suspension-of-electoral-rule/Stephen Campbell: Along the Integral Margin: Uneven Development in a Myanmar Squatter Settlement (Cornell 2022), https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501764882/along-the-integral-margin/Ma Cheria: "Striking Against All Odds", https://labourreview.org/strike-in-myanmar/Ma Cheria: "“Fight on Our Own and Build Solidarity”: A Conversation with Ma Tin Tin Wai of Federation of General Workers in Myanmar", https://labourreview.org/fight-on-our-own/