Post-MFA adjustment in the Philippine garments sector: Women's cooperatives amid manufacturing decline

The end of the Multi Fibre Arrangements (MFA) in 2005 led to the reconfiguration of international value chains and to major international shifts in garments manufacturing which generated both winners and losers among countries and workers. Based on empirical data collection by means of open interviews and a workers' survey, this paper focuses on the survival of the Philippine garments sector in the post MFA-era. Particular attention is paid to three groups of displaced women in Metro Manila who took action to safeguard their employment in this declining sector by forming manufacturing cooperatives. It demonstrates how they can sustain their employment after displacement and identifies the lessons it provides for women in similar situations elsewhere. Herewith the paper contributes to the research agenda on how international dynamics in production have an impact on the position of women working at the bottom of international value chains.