Abstract

In 2007, contract workers of CODELCO, Chile’s main copper-extracting company, staged a 37 day-long strike. The Contract Workers’ Movement, the most important labour unrest since the reinstatement of democracy in 1990, was the result of years of previous organising. In this chapter, Donoso analyses the rise of this movement and its claims for more equal labour rights. Particular emphasis is put on the links between the neoliberal transformation of the labour market, and the movement’s articulation of the resulting grievances. Donoso shows that while the Contract Workers’ Movement succeeded in constructing a collective action frame that both resonated with public opinion and challenged CODELCO, it also unearthed resistance from other key actors of the labour field. Ultimately, this restricted the movement’s agenda impact and the prospects of advancing labour justice in Chile.