Forging steel and new labor relations: a case study of the impact of the labor reform on the steel mill Usiminas

• Grant number: 18/15786-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: January 01, 2019
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology
• Principal Investigator: Jose Dari Krein
• Grantee: Flávia Ferreira Ribeiro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/24538-6 - Forging steel and new international labor relations: the impact of changes in the labor regulation in the steel industry in France and Brazil, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The research project aims to assess the impacts of the 2017 labor reform, which changes substantially the legal landmark of labor relation in Brazil. The steel sector is central to the study, developing a case study of the company Usiminas, encompassing its plants on Ipatinga (in the State of Minas Gerais) and Cubatão (in the State of São Paulo). Our goal is to identify the main changes that occurred between the years of 2018/2020, divided in two groups: (1) the employment and labor relations, specifically the types of hiring, characteristics of the work hours and payment; and (2) the unions and the collective agreements, taking into consideration the results as well as the actions and strategies used by the involved actors. We also intend to assess how the workers perceive the situation and their daily experiences dealing with the changes put forward by the reform, at the plant and in the community, encompassing other urban actors in the cities were the company is installed. (AU)