The labour movement and radical politics
The development of a labour movement in Malaya before World War II was primarily an immigrant phenomenon. Malay wage labour was relatively insignifcant; those employed in the estates and mines were casual labourers recruited only when cheaper immigrant labour was not available. On the whole, the labour movement stemmedfrom socioeconomic grievances among the Chinese and Indian labourers associated with low wages, inflationary pressures and exploitation.
- Information in the full article includes
- Labour unrest
- Radical politics and Chinese labour
- The Depression and its aftermath
- Communist influence
- Politics and Indian labour
- Labour strikes and government reaction
