This study was prepared for the “Workshop on the Effects of Globalization in the Textile, Garment and Leather Industries,” jointly sponsored by the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation, and the Asian and Pacific Regional Organization on 26 May 1998.

It discusses the structural adjustment measures program of government in response to the challenges of trade liberalization and globalization.  It analyzes the issues and concerns of the garment and textile sectors, and how they have struggled to survive under an environment of free trade in the global market.

The paper attempts to propose labor policy agenda in the areas of employment, human resources development, workers’ welfare, and industrial relations, to address the problems and issues resulting from the opening of the Philippine economy to the international market.