Labour migration and policy formation in a newly industrialized country: a case study of illegal Thai workers in Singapore

The Singapore government decided in 1988 that employers were relying too heavily on cheap immigrant labor from Thailand and raised its wage levy on employers to discourage hiring non-citizens. However, many employers ignored these changes and hired undocumented aliens. The government responded by expelling the illegal workers. The Thai government reacted by opening negotiations to obtain legal status for their citizens desiring employment in Singapore. For a number of reasons, very few of the deported Thais were rehired and were replaced by workers of other nationalities.