Abstract
This chapter analyses the characteristics of citizenship composition and migration policies of Brunei Darussalam, paying particular attention to foreign domestic workers (FDWs) and examining how migrants function in the local labour market. Research on FDWs in East and Southeast Asia is not uncommon, though little attention has been paid to Brunei. This does not mean that the presence of FDWs there is negligible. Indeed, the proportion of migrants employed in the workforce and the proportion of FDWs per capita in the country may be the highest in the region. However, this level of dependence on foreign workers, which is common in rentier and developmental states, has become controversial as governments seek to nationalise their workforces to avoid local unemployment. Though Brunei is often portrayed as a typical rentier state, it is unique in several aspects: it has relatively high female labour force participation; a high number of female professionals and managers; and there is no gender pay gap among local people. All these are characteristics of a developmental state. It could be argued that the higher wages enjoyed by local women and their participation in the workforce are made possible partly by the employment of FDWs who take on domestic duties with low economic value, while their employers develop their own career paths that produce much higher value. Labour reforms have not necessarily changed these conditions due to the often ambiguous and indefinite coverage of migrant workers under Brunei’s Employment Order 2009 and the unilateral implementation of a minimum wage.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
According to Trafficking in persons report 2009 (United States Department of State 2009), the number of foreign domestic workers was 25,000. In 2014, the number was estimated at 22,000 (Quratul-Ain 2014). The largest estimate is 33,943, based on work permits issued in 2011 (Ubaidillah 2012). According to government statistics in 2011, the number of households in Brunei was 68,208 (JKPE 2011). The household employment ratio of foreign domestic workers would therefore be at least 32%.
- 2.
Out-of-pocket health expenditure in total health expenditure in rentier states ranges from 5 to 20%, which is lower or similar to that of Japan which has medical insurance, according to the World Health Organisation (2018) database.
- 3.
However, the IMF (2013) points out that low productivity is due to the limited human resource development provided in destination countries due to the temporariness of migrants’ stays.
- 4.
Based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations skill levels, elementary occupations include street workers and vendors (excluding food), building caretakers, rubbish collectors, porters and luggage handlers, food preparation assistants, refuse workers, building cleaners and domestic workers (International Labour Office 2012).
- 5.
O-level exams are qualifications in the British educational system and are upper secondary exams for students between 15 and 17 years.
- 6.
After criticising Saudi Arabia in 2016, the Brunei Times halted all publication after 10 years of operating (Walker 2016).
- 7.
B$1 is approximately equal to US$0.73.
- 8.
The Brunei Council on Social Welfare was established in 2009 ‘to help complement and supplement efforts on social welfare programs, initiatives and activities’ made by the Brunei government. The council’s main target groups are children, disabled people, the elderly, poor or needy residents and vulnerable families (Brunei Council on Social Welfare 2017).
- 9.
Interview with the Indonesian Board of Development and Empowerment on Human Resources for Health, Ministry of Health, Hanoi, 15 August 2017.
References
Abdul Salam, Asharaf, Ibrahim Elsegaey, Rshood Khraif, and Abdullah Al-Mutairi. 2014. Population distribution and household conditions in Saudi Arabia: Reflections on the 2010 census. SpringerPlus 3: 530.
Adliena H. Kamaludin. 2015. Indonesian workers still face minimum wage issues in Brunei. Brunei Times, 5 October.
Anaman, Kwabena A., and Hartinie M. Kassim. 2006. Marriage and female labour supply in Brunei Darussalam: A case study of urban women in Bandar Seri Begawan. Journal of Socio-Economics 35 (5): 797–812.
Anderson, Lisa. 1990. Policy-making and theory building: American political science and the Islamic Middle East. In Theory, politics and the Arab world: Critical responses, ed. Hisham Sharabi, 52–80. New York: Routledge.
Anya, Agnes. 2018. Indonesia, Brunei to make MOU on migrant workers. Jakarta Post, 3 May.
Asato, Wako. 2014. Incorporating foreign domestic workers as providers of family care: Case studies of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. In Transformation of the intimate and the public in Asian modernity, ed. Emiko Ochiai and Leo Aoi Hosoya, 190–234. Leiden: Brill.
Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam [AITI]. 2010. Brunei Darussalam household ICT survey report 2010. Bandar Seri Begawan: Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam.
Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam [AITI]. 2016. Brunei Darussalam household ICT survey report 2016. Bandar Seri Begawan: Authority for Info-Communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam.
Bahrain. 2010. Census summary result 2010. Population, housing, building, establishments and agriculture census. http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/ess/ess_test_folder/World_Census_Agriculture/Country_info_2010/Reports/Reports_6/BHR_FIN_REP_EN_2010.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Beblawi, Hazem. 1987. The rentier state in the Arab world. In The rentier state, ed. Hazem Beblawi and Giacomo Luciani, 49–62. London: Croom Helm.
Beblawi, Hazem, and Giacomo Luciani. 1987. Introduction. In The rentier state, ed. Hazem Beblawi and Giacomo Luciani, 1–21. London: Croom Helm.
Brunei Council on Social Welfare, Solidaritas Perempuan, Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau, Inc., and Southeast Asia Women’s Caucus on the ASEAN. 2014. Compliance with women’s rights standards: The case of migration of domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines in Brunei Darussalam. https://womenscaucusonasean.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/compliance-with-womens-rights-standards_domestic-workers-from-indonesia-and-the-philippines-in-brunei-2.pdf. Accessed 12 Dec 2018.
Brunei Council on Social Welfare. 2017. Majlis Kesejahteraan Masyarakat—Brunei council on social welfare: About us. http://www.mkmbrunei.com/aboutus. Accessed 13 Dec 2018.
Brunei, Department of Planning, Development and Research, Ministry of Education. 2017. Brunei Darussalam education statistics. 2016. Bandar Seri Begawan: Department of Planning. Ministry of Education: Development and Research.
Brunei, Department of Statistics, Department of Economic Planning and Development [JKPE]. 2003. Report on the 2001 population census. Bandar Seri Begawan: Department of Statistics, JKPE.
Brunei, Department of Statistics, Department of Economic Planning and Development [JKPE], Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam. 2011. Population and housing census. Bandar Seri Begawan: Department of Economic Planning and Development, Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam. http://www.depd.gov.bn/DEPD%20Documents%20Library/DOS/BPP2011/Preliminary%20Report%20of%20BPP%202011.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Brunei, Department of Statistics, Department of Economic Planning and Development, Brunei [JKPE]. 2016. Brunei Darussalam statistical yearbook 2015. Bandar Seri Begawan: Department of Statistics, JKPE.
Brunei, Department of Economic Planning and Development, Brunei [JKPE] and International Labour Organisation [ILO]. 2014. Labour force survey 2014: Preliminary report. Brunei: Department of Economic Planning and Development and Geneva: ILO.
Brunei Darussalam, Government of. 2002. Laws of Brunei: Chapter 15—Brunei nationality. http://www.agc.gov.bn/AGC%20Images/LAWS/ACT_PDF/cap015.pdf. Accessed 12 Dec 2018.
Brunei Darussalam, Government of. 2009. Employment Order 2009. http://www.agc.gov.bn/AGC%20Images/LAWS/Gazette_PDF/2009/EN/s037.pdf. Accessed 12 Dec 2018.
Brunei Darussalam, Government of. 2017. https://www.gov.bn/SitePages/Wawasan%20Brunei%202035.aspx. Accessed 12 Dec 2018.
Brunei Times. 2009. Concept of TVET in education system lauded. 29 March.
Brunei Times. 2011. The exploitation of Dewi. 24 July.
Centre for Migrant Advocacy. 2011. Survey research on the effectiveness of household service workers policy reform package. Quezon City: Centre for Migrant Advocacy.
Chang, Grace. 2000. Disposable domestics: Immigrant women workers in the global economy. Boston: South End Press.
Constable, Nicole. 2007. Maid to order in Hong Kong: Stories of migrant workers, 2nd ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta. 1999. Social foundations of postindustrial economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Euromonitor International. 2016. United Arab Emirates country factfile. https://www.euromonitor.com/united-arab-emirates/country-factfile. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Gulf Labour Markets and Migration [GLMM]. 2014a. Bahrain: Estimated total employed non-Bahraini population by sex and sector (public, private, domestic) (quarterly, 2003–2014). http://gulfmigration.org/bahrain-estimated-total-employed-non-bahraini-population-by-sex-and-sector-public-private-domestic-quarterly-2003-2014/. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Gulf Labour Markets and Migration [GLMM]. 2014b. Kuwait: Employed population aged 15 and above by nationality (Kuwaiti/non-Kuwaiti), activity sector and age group (2014). http://gulfmigration.org/kuwait-employed-population-aged-15-and-above-by-nationality-kuwaiti-non-kuwaiti-activity-sector-and-age-group-2014/. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Gulf Labour Markets and Migration [GLMM]. 2014c. Qatar: Economically active population aged 15 and above by nationalist (Qatari/non-Qatari), sex and activity sector (2014). http://gulfmigration.org/qatar-economically-active-population-aged-15-and-above-by-nationality-qatari-non-qatari-sex-and-activity-sector-2014/. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Gulf Labour Markets and Migration [GLMM]. 2018. Saudi Arabia: Non-Saudi domestic workers by sex and main group of household occupations (Q2, 2018). http://gulfmigration.org/saudi-arabia-non-saudi-domestic-workers-by-sex-and-main-group-of-household-occupations-q2-2018/. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Hertog, Steffen. 2012. A comparative assessment of labour market nationalisation policies in the GCC. In National employment, migration and education in the GCC, ed. Steffen Hertog, 65–106. Berlin: Gerlach Press.
Hertog, Steffen. 2014. An assessment of nationalisation policies. GLMM Research Paper, No. 1/2014.
Hong Kong, Census and Statistics Department. 2015. Thematic household survey on sharing of housework. https://www.statistics.gov.hk/pub/B11302562015XXXXB0100.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Hundt, David, and Jitendra Uttam. 2017. Varieties of capitalism in Asia: Beyond the developmental state. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
International Labour Office. 2012. International standard classification of occupations: ISCO-08. Geneva: International Labour Office.
International Labour Organisation [ILO]. 2018a. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force). ILOSTAT Database. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
International Labour Organisation [ILO]. 2018b. Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+). ILOSTAT Database. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.MA.ZS?locations=BN. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
International Labour Organisation [ILO]. 2018c. Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15–64). ILOSTAT Database. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.ACTI.ZS. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Ito, Kimio. 2014. Emerging culture wars: Backlash against ‘gender freedom’ (jenda furi in Japanese). In Gender and welfare states in East Asia: Confucianism or gender equality?, ed. Sirin Sung and Gillian Pascall, 137–151. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Izam Said Ya’akub, and Syazwan Sadikin. 2008. Bosses urged to give priority for jobs to locals. Brunei Times, 9 April.
Koch, Natalie. 2015. Exploring divergences in comparative research: Citizenship regimes and the spectacular cities of Central Asia and the GCC. Area 47 (4): 436–442.
Kuwait, Public Authority for Civil Information [PACI]. 2018. Private households by size, members and number of households. http://stat.paci.gov.kw/englishreports/#DataTabPlace:family. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Kwon, Huck-ju. 2005. An overview of the study: The developmental welfare state and policy reforms in East Asia. In Transforming the developmental welfare state in East Asia, ed. Huck-ju Kwon, 1–23. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lan, Pei-Chia. 2006. Global Cinderellas: Migrant domestics and newly rich employers in Taiwan. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Leitner, Sigrid. 2003. Varieties of familialism: The caring function of the family in comparative perspective. European Societies 5 (4): 353–375.
Low, K.C.P, and Sulaiman Zohrah. 2013. Women and human capital: The Brunei Darussalam perspective. Educational Research 4 (2): 91–97.
Mahdavy, Hossein. 1970. Patterns and problems of economic development in rentier states: The case of Iran. In Studies in economic history of the Middle East from the rise of Islam to the present day, ed. M.A. Cook, 428–467. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Minnis, John R. 1998. Brunei’s seventh National Development Plan 1996–2000: Implications for education policy and practice. Asia Pacific Journal of Education 18 (1): 25–37.
Ochiai, Emiko. 2011. Unsustainable societies: The failure of familialism in East Asia’s compressed modernity. Historical Social Research 36 (2): 219–245.
Oman. 2010. Selected data and indicators from the results of general populations, housing and establishments censuses (2010–2003–1993). https://www.ncsi.gov.om/Elibrary/LibraryContentDoc/ben_English%20_6823279d-e72e-4bf9-9a1a-dffb1cff0b62.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Oman, National Centre for Statistics and Information [NCSI]. 2018. Statistical year book. https://www.ncsi.gov.om/Elibrary/LibraryContentDoc/bar_Statistical%20Year%20Book%202018_a8b32d59-cdc9-4987-ba29-1e7ce78d5cca.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Piri, Sally. 2015. Labour issue on top of agenda, says new Philippine envoy. Brunei Times, 4 June.
Piri, Sally, and Syed Rory Malai Hassan. 2010. Envoys raise concern over non-payment of wages to Indonesian workers. Brunei Times, 10 October.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]. 2013. Economic outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2014: Beyond the middle-income trap. Paris: OECD.
Qatar, Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics. 2015. Analysis of the results of population, housing and establishments census 2015. https://www.mdps.gov.qa/en/statistics/Statistical%20Releases/General/Census/Outcome_Analysis_of_Census_of_Population_Housing_and_Establishments_2015_en.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Quratul-Ain Bandial. 2011. Migrant workers’ complaints drop. Brunei Times, 20 August.
Quratul-Ain Bandial. 2012. Brunei on tier 2 of human trafficking list. Brunei Times, 22 June.
Quratul-Ain Bandial. 2014. Better justice for domestic workers. Brunei Times, 28 July.
Quratul-Ain Bandial. 2015. Greater protection awaits Indonesian workers in Brunei. Brunei Times, 8 February.
Research Office Legislative Council Secretariat. 2017. Foreign domestic helpers and evolving care duties in Hong Kong. Research Brief Issue, No. 4. Hong Kong: Research Office Legislative Council Secretariat.
Romero, Mary. 2000. Bursting the foundational myths of reproductive labour under capitalism: A call for brave new families or brave new villages? American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law 8 (1): 177–195.
Singapore, Department of Statistics. 2018a. Households. https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/households/households/latest-data. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Singapore, Department of Statistics. 2018b. Resident households by household size, annual. https://www.tablebuilder.singstat.gov.sg/publicfacing/createDataTable.action?refId=12305. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Singapore, Ministry of Manpower [MOM]. 2018. Foreign workforce numbers. https://www.mom.gov.sg/documents-and-publications/foreign-workforce-numbers. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Sobrina Rosli. 2007. Bruneians opt for Vietnamese maids. Brunei Times, 29 January.
Syazwan Sadikin. 2014. Man fined $11,400 for failing to pay maid for more than 3 years. Brunei Times, 21 November.
Taiwan, Ministry of Labour. 2016. Diao cha tong ji jie guo ti yao fen xi [Summary of survey statistics on foreign worker management and implementation]. Taipei: Ministry of Labour, Taiwan. http://statdb.mol.gov.tw/html/svy04/0442analyze.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Tayah, Marie-José, and Assaf Hadi. 2018. The future of domestic work in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Abu Dhabi: Secretariat of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue. http://abudhabidialogue.org.ae/sites/default/files/document-library/2018_Future%20of%20Domestic%20Work%20Study.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Teo, Peter. 2017. Research brief—Migrant worker recruitment costs: Brunei. Singapore: Transient Workers Count Too.
Thien, Rachel. 2012. 5,000 jobseekers cannot find work. Brunei Times, 29 October.
Thien, Rachel. 2015a. Caps on expat workers won’t hinder growth. Brunei Times, 10 March.
Thien, Rachel. 2015b. No mechanism to monitor Indonesian workers’ welfare. Brunei Times, 2 June.
Ubaidillah Masli. 2009. Brunei not doing enough to stop human trafficking. Brunei Times, 18 June.
Ubaidillah Masli. 2012. Gov’t to review business licences. Brunei Times, 18 March.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific [ESCAP]. 2014. Asian and Pacific conference on gender equality and women’s empowerment: Beijing +20 review—Brunei Darussalam country report. http://www.unescapsdd.org/files/images/Beijing20_national_review_Brunei.pdf. Accessed 12 Dec 2018.
United Nations Population Division. 2008. Internal migrant stock (% of population). Trends in total migrant stock: 2008 revision. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SM.POP.TOTL.ZS. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
United Nations Statistics Division 1995. Compendium on human settlements. Statistics 1995: Population, number of households, number of living quarters, average size of households, average number of households and persons in living quarters: Country or area, urban-rural areas, cities. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/housing/comp1995/TABLE06.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
United States Department of State. 2009. 2009 Trafficking in persons report—Brunei. Washington, DC: United States Department of State. https://www.refworld.org/docid/4a4214cbc.html. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
United States Department of State. 2011. 2011 Trafficking in persons report—Brunei. Washington, DC: United States Department of State.
Vlieger, Antoinette. 2012. Domestic workers in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates: A socio-legal study on conflicts. New Orleans: Quid Pro Books.
Walker, Peter. 2016. The Brunei Times suddenly closes after criticising Saudi Arabia’s Mecca visa price-hike. The Independent, 8 November.
Waqiuddin Rajak. 2016. More employers agree to adopt standard minimum wage for Indonesians. Brunei Times, 10 October.
World Economic Forum. 2017. The global gender gap report 2017. Geneva: World Economic Forum.
World Health Organisation. 2018. Out-of-pocket expenditure (% of current health expenditure). Global Health Expenditure Database. http://apps.who.int/nha/database. Accessed 29 Dec 2018.
Zaili Zafirah. 2015. Demand for Filipino helpers falls due to minimum wage. Brunei Times, 28 August.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Asato, W. (2019). Brunei Darussalam: Female Labour Force Participation and Foreign Domestic Workers. In: Lian, K., Hosoda, N., Ishii, M. (eds) International Labour Migration in the Middle East and Asia. Asia in Transition, vol 8. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6899-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6899-8_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-6898-1
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-6899-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)