the northeast (ESCAP 1988: 29–31).
The progressive engagement of rural people in urban labour was enabled
by characteristic village cultural modes, whereby new arrivals were advised
and assisted by friends and neighbours already working in the city (Fuller,
Peerasit and Lightfoot 1990). Labour conditions and workplaces varied
considerably, from the small shophouse workshops of Thonburi to large
international firms in Samut Prakan. Similarly, the experience of housing
was varied. Factories often supplied specialised dormitory accommodation,
while other workers lived outside factories in rented apartments and
slum houses.