Globalization and Industrial Relations in the Philippines

Book excerpt: Globalization was associated with a decline in labour power and voice, and an increase in employer power focusing on enhanced world place flexibility in an era when the Philippines' competitive advantage was lower labour costs and an English~speaking workforce. This report will show that the financial crisis in Asia has served to further accelerate the crisis trend, and in several ways has created conditions for employers to easily convince workers and their representatives to push through radical workplace reforms without significant union opposition: the financial crisis has weakened labour's bargaining power and strengthened and accelerated employers' flexibility drives.