ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the examination of the emergence and transformation of flexible employment in the context of Hong Kong society and economy. It examines the changing patterns of flexible work in Hong Kong over the past 40 years, i.e., from the 1960s to 2000s. The chapter highlights the critical differences between flexible production in the boom days and those in the bust period. It shows how the changing pattern of flexible work has shaped working conditions, working lives, and labor insurgency in the contemporary era. The chapter argues that globalization and economic restructuring totally altered the meaning of flexible work in Hong Kong, leading to misery for the working class and new patterns of labor insurgency. Hong Kong’s state-business relationships contributed to the formation and consolidation of flexible production in Hong Kong. Business organizations tolerated rising wages and benefits only because of the tight labor market and the rapid economic development of Hong Kong during the 1960s and 1970s.
