Why Work Insecurity Shifts Latin American Workers From Wages to Political Demands

🔎 Research Focus:

How does the world of work in Latin America shape the ways workers make demands? Attention centers on whether strong productionist demands — those about jobs, work conditions, and wages — have been displaced by consumptionist or political demands. The study moves beyond a simple formal–informal divide to examine individual traits of work that cut across that boundary.

🧭 How the evidence was gathered:

• Analysis of survey data from four Latin American capital cities.
• Comparison of work traits rather than only formal vs. informal employment categories.

📌 Key Findings:

• Both work-based atomization and job insecurity reduce demand making in the workplace arena.
• These two traits affect demands directed at the state in different ways:
• Insecurity is linked to a shift away from productionist demands and toward consumptionist and political demands.
• Atomization is linked to a generalized demobilization across issues, lowering collective action both at work and before the state.

⚖️ Why it matters:

The results have implications for representation of worker interests amid ongoing labor market restructuring. If insecurity pushes workers toward non-productionist claims while atomization dampens mobilization broadly, questions arise about whether organized labor can reclaim a central voice in shaping that restructuring process.