THE POLITICS AND POLITICS OF WAITING: BANGLADESHI FOREIGN WORKERS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This dissertation adopts waiting as its object of study and conceptual tool to interrogate the lived experiences of Bangladeshi low-skilled foreign workers in Singapore. It identifies three groups of workers discussing waiting in distinct settings: (i) those confined to dormitories longing for community returned, (ii) injured workers awaiting compensation, and (iii) workers who seek to change employers. I propose that these workers are embedded in three structures of time: confinement, in limbo, and curtailment. Within each setting, particular migration policies and mechanisms are employed by the Singapore state and employers to ‘board up’ workers from the rest of society and limit them of access to certain rights, resources and life chances. Consequently, diverse responses ranging from doubt and despair to patience and hopefulness emerge among workers. Nonetheless, I problematise negative overtones about waiting as waste and suspension and demonstrate that agency can still be exercised in and through waiting.