Abstract

In recent decades, the construction industry has undergone significant changes in labour management working conditions and workforce composition, with a significant increase on the recruitment of migrant workers. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between subcontracting as a management model, the working conditions that prevail within the type of contract commonly used, and the presence of migrants in the construction industry. We argue that these three elements that characterize the construction industry are closely related. Based on a qualitative methodological approach that consisted of interviews conducted in Santiago, Iquique and Antofagasta, as well as participant observations in the construction field in Santiago, this study reveals that the precariousness in the working conditions is related to the increased recruitment of migrant workers, whose vulnerability becomes suitable for such an economic model.