Abstract

The article presents the results of the analysis of the conflict through which the value of work inside and outside an industrial plant took shape and meaning in a complex sector – the arms industry – in which the State plays a central role as a regulator, client, and producer. The article focuses on the analysis of the case of RWM Italia, a company controlled by Rheinmetall Waffen Munition GmbH, subsidiary of the Rheinmetall AG group. The company has been involved for six years in a political conflict about production and the future of hundreds of workers of the Domusnovas plant (South Sardinia), known as the "bomb factory", which became an international case at the end of 2015, after an investigation conducted by "The New York Times". The research method is that of protest event analysis (PEA), which reconstructs the protest cycle. The main results of the research highlight the fundamental role played by a social movement in restoring the ethical value of work in an area with low levels of employment