The structural transformation of the textile industry in Taiwan and its impact on current women workers (China)

The textile industry in Taiwan has been undergoing a serious structural adjustment since the late 1980s. The globalization of the economy has redistributed capital, resources, and power nationally and globally. Consequently, the production relationships between textile importers and exporters, buyers and producers, and textile employers as well as their workers have also changed. Threatened by the influx of competitors from low-wage countries, many textile firms in Taiwan have made an endeavor to restructure their means of production. One of the most influential strategies is to move their production sites to low-wage countries overseas, which has also seriously affected textile workers' employment positions in the labor market as well as their well-being.; The major purpose of this research is to uncover the impact of the restructuring that has been experienced by women textile workers in Taiwan. Qualitative research is used to interview managers and union leaders in five textile firms in order to find out the restructuring strategies that have been adopted by textile producers in Taiwan and how they affect the textile workforce. A survey with 244 current women textile workers in five sites aims at discovering how they perceive the changes in their working conditions, their employment security in their factories, and their job prospects in the labor market.; The results of the research show that textile producers in Taiwan have adopted strategies such as automation, capital transference, introduction of foreign workers, subcontracting, and geographical transference of their labor force, to restructure their production. These means have resulted in the substitution of men workers for women workers, temporary workers for formal workers, and foreign workers for local workers. Deskilling is another negative consequence for women workers. The major losers are older, less educated women. The survey also shows that older, less educated women with high seniority have higher employment insecurity and poorer job prospects. However, women workers in firms with a growing workforce report significantly more optimistic perceptions of future employment. The results imply that policy makers should pay particular attention to specific industries with the most disadvantaged group of women who have been seriously affected by economic restructuring.