Contribution short abstract:

This paper examines the contested relationship between the International Labour Organization, colonial administrations, and organized labour in South/Southeast Asia during the late 1930s, using the example of Harold Butler, the ILO’s second Director-General.

Contribution long abstract:

This paper examines the contested relationship between the International Labour Organization, colonial administrations, and organized labour in South/Southeast Asia during the late 1930s, using the example of Harold Butler, the ILO’s second Director-General. Butler’s 1937–1938 travels through Singapore, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, and British and French India brought him into contact with diverse actors, including colonial officials, industrialists, and anti-colonial labour movements. At a time when the League of Nations, the ILO’s sister organization, faced growing international disrepute due to its failure to address geopolitical crises, Butler sought to reconcile the divergent interests of colonial governments, industrial stakeholders, and organised labour. His goal was to bolster the ILO’s legitimacy in Asia while gaining insights into the region’s accelerating industrialisation. Butler’s subsequent publication, Problems of Industry in the East, reflects his observations on the capitalist development and labor conditions in the region. Framing increased labor productivity as a prerequisite for integrating South and Southeast Asian workers into the global capitalist economy, Butler’s analysis reveals tensions between the ILO’s reformist rhetoric and its alignment with colonial and capitalist agendas. Drawing on Butler’s correspondence, local press reports, and his publication, this paper explores the interplay of commoning and uncommoning practices within colonial labor systems. It highlights how local labor dynamics both resisted and reinforced exploitative structures shaped by racialized exclusions. By situating Butler’s visit within the broader context of global racial capitalism, this study contributes to understanding the role of international organizations in perpetuating and contesting labor exploitation in the Global South.