Migration and Precarious Work: Negotiating Debt, Employment, and Livelihood Strategies Amongst Bangladeshi Migrant Men Working in Singapore's Construction Industry

To the extent that circular labour migration in Southeast Asia is increasingly dominated by migrants concentrated amongst the low-wage/-skilled occupational sectors, it may be observed that migration and precarious work are mutually constitutive in significant ways. Inasmuch as migration is frequently espoused as an effective developmental strategy for securing pathways to socioeconomic mobility, less is known about the specific conditions and practices that enable and/or constrain these possibilities. Furthermore, since migrants undertake significant investments (often by means of debt and collateral loans) to finance their migration, the risks and consequences of failed migration are far-reaching. Taking the case-study of Bangladeshi men migrating to Singapore as low-wage construction workers, this paper draws on findings from a quantitative survey (n=205) and in-depth…