A network of researchers has launched the most comprehensive study on working conditions ever conducted in Brazil.

Members of the management committee of the National Institute of Science and Technology, Labor, Inclusion and Equity (INCT-Trabalho), an agency linked to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), have begun the most comprehensive diagnosis of workers' conditions ever carried out in Brazil. The group, which met at the end of last week at Unicamp, plans to launch research projects, seminars, outreach activities with society, and a series of publications by 2030, including e-books, articles, and academic chapters focused on the debate about inclusion, social equity, precarious work, and the devaluation of labor.

Divided into eight thematic areas (see chartThe initiative brings together approximately 60 Brazilian researchers and 38 foreign researchers from countries in Latin America, Europe, and Canada, all working together in an interdisciplinary network of studies. The activities aim to present an in-depth diagnosis of the current state of labor in the country, advance theoretical and methodological reflection on studies in this sector, and propose guidelines for future public policies related to the topic.

Furthermore, the members of INCT want to promote greater visibility and improve the quality of public debate on the topic of work and contribute to its repositioning on the national agenda. The group plans to implement its own research program, linked to active dialogue with social actors strategically positioned in the world of work.

The management committee includes Unicamp professors José Dari Krein, from the Institute of Economics (IE), and Andréia Galvão, professor in the Postgraduate Program in Political Science at IFCH; in addition, Renata Dutra, from the University of Brasília (UnB), Adalberto Cardoso, from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), José Ricardo Ramalho, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Maria Aparecida Bridi, from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), deputy coordinator of the group, and Roberto Veras de Oliveira, from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), coordinator of the work, also participate.

Review

The project stems from the assessment that the country is facing a crisis marked by economic, social, technological, and environmental changes that particularly affect the working classes. According to the researchers, factors such as the financialization of the economy, the global productive reorganization, and the environmental crisis are compounded by historical Brazilian problems such as informality, structural inequality, and institutional weaknesses.

“We have many challenges. The meeting helped us move forward in planning activities, dividing the work between the management committee and the researchers, and defining mechanisms and criteria to promote greater integration of the axes. We aim to produce new quantitative and qualitative data through research on transformations in labor relations and conditions. This requires systematically analyzing a series of factors that interfere in this process,” says Andréia Galvão, citing the role of the State at its different levels, the development policies of different governments, the role of the business sector and the actions of unions and movements that fight for social and labor rights, in addition to technological, environmental and demographic issues, with a focus on gender, race and age.

“Planning activities helps us conduct collective research, carry out analytical work, but also to gauge our capacity for intervention in the public debate on these topics. It aims to carry out collective research within each of the thematic areas, which requires assigning very precise tasks to its participants so that everyone can get involved,” she adds.

Professor José Dari Krein points out that the INCT is the result of an articulation built over more than a decade and strengthened from the creation of the Interdisciplinary Network for Studies and Monitoring of the Reconfiguration of Work (Remir Trabalho), initially formed to monitor the unfolding of labor reform in Brazil.

“The project starts from the premise that work continues to be a structuring element of social life and that its centrality needs to be repositioned in light of the economic, technological, and cultural changes of recent decades. The diagnosis developed by the group considers factors such as the advancement of artificial intelligence, automation, and the internet of things, in addition to the transformations caused by globalization, climate change, and the increased precariousness of labor relations,” comments Krein. “This set of changes has increased social insecurity and reduced mechanisms of protection for workers.”

Precariousness

The INCT (National Institute of Science and Technology) was created to analyze contemporary transformations in the world of work in Brazil and their impacts on society. Bringing together researchers from different areas, the initiative seeks to understand phenomena such as the precariousness of work, the flexibilization of labor relations, the effects of new technologies, and the deepening of social inequalities. The eight thematic axes that will be addressed in the virtual books correspond to critical situations in the contemporary world of work. 

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The INCT adopts a collegial and networked governance structure to coordinate its research, training, and social dialogue activities. The organization was designed to integrate different areas of knowledge and support the thematic and territorial scope of the project.