Work, identity, and organization in the new world of labor

Abstract

This article presents the results of a research on the possibilities and conditions of organization and representation in the current context of labor, characterized by atypical hiring through different forms of labor intermediation: contracts for service provision, temporary employment, short-term contracts and other forms, which are called here new forms of contracting. The research context covers the mass layoffs in different entities of the Capital District of Bogotá, before the arrival of Enrique Peñalosa at the City Hall in 2016. The paper analyzed organizational dynamics and different actions taken by unions and affected workers, who were in different modalities of contracting, to face this problem. An ethnographic approach was used to examine spaces for the organization and discussion of workers, as well as a detailed review of the press, official documents, and statistics.