Labour in south east asia:a symposium/edited by P.P. Pillai

In this symposium an attempt is made to present in outline a picture of the labour conditions prevailing in the countries of Southeast Asia. No apology is needed for drawing pointed attention at this juncture to the labour problems of these countries, for one result of the Second World War has admittedly been to render these problems more acute than before and the manner of approaching them more fraught with consequences, not only for the countries concerned, but for the world as a whole. Furthermore, especially after the experience of the inter-war and war years, labour problems are no longer regarded as secondary questions affecting a small and not very powerful section of the community; and it is now recognised that these problems cannot be disposed of swiftly by easy or arbitrary methods. The present trend is unmistakably to regard such problems from the broad perspective of the betterment of society as a whole; for no society can enjoy more amenities than what the productive capacity of its members enables it to command; and of the many factors which determine this capacity, labour is one of the most important.

Of the many changes wrought by the last war, changes which are still in process and the effect of which will continue to be felt for many a decade to come, the one on which the greatest stress has been laid is the emergence of "One World'. But as students of evolution are aware, the development towards unity, far from obliterating diversity, accen tuates it. In periods of marked social development the trends towards unification and diversification are both strong. It is not surprising, therefore, that as the idea of world unity steadily gained ground, the various parts of the world have shown signs of far-reaching changes in their own particular structure. Such changes are apparent every where. In Europe, for instance, the old forms of economic and social organisation are being modified or altered and innovations are boldly adopted.