COVID, coup, and crises of social reproduction: exploring the effects of Myanmar’s polycrisis on migrant workers in global seafood production networks in Thailand

Abstract COVID-19 and Myanmar’s 2021 military coup are worsening crises of social reproduction in Myanmar by disrupting educational institutions and households’ livelihoods. This polycrisis is generating a new supply of migrant labour and reconfiguring the socio-economic statuses of workers in global seafood production networks in Thailand. I argue that the Thai seafood industry and buyers in seafood GPNs are benefitting from a polycrisis-generated supply of labour. This study shows that production is not only supported by the social reproduction of workers, but also by crises of social reproduction that contribute to the making of a potential and precarious workforce.