Tereza Glaucia Rocha Matos

Work, health and organisation of street scavengers in Fortaleza, Brazil

Abstract The unemployment crisis that resulted in the social exclusion of workers and the emergence of recycling industries has favoured an increase in the number of waste scavengers in large urban centres of developing countries. In Fortaleza, Brazil, between 8,000 and 10,000 people work as street scavengers in private junkyards and small-scale businesses, or as members of associations. These workers are the first link in the recycling chain. The aim of this study is to understand the working conditions of associated, as opposed to unaffiliated, scavengers working in private scrapyards and to identify the impact of scavenging on their health conditions. The qualitative method consisted of interviews, focus groups and an ethnographic study. Scavenging work involves collecting recyclable materials from the streets, wasteland or large rubbish bins outside houses and apartment buildings. The average daily earnings of these workers are very low and their extreme poverty is obvious. Typical health issues experienced by these workers include back pain, infections and injuries sustained when handling waste and as a result of traffic accidents. However, associations can provide workers with a sense of identity and inclusion which, together with other minor improvements in work conditions and organisation, can constitute ‘symbolic deprecarisation’. Although street scavenging is informal, unsecured and precarious work, ‘symbolic deprecarisation’ can be beneficial to street scavengers and serve as a model to workers in other informal precarious activities.

Formação em psicologia e as novas demandas sociais: relato dos egressos da Universidade de Fortaleza

Resumo O presente artigo tem por objetivo refletir sobre a formacao do psicologo tomando como referencia o discurso dos egressos do curso de psicologia da Universidade de Fortaleza – UNIFOR – universidade privada mantida pela Fundacao Edson Queiroz, a fim de verificar se a formacao profissional responde as demandas sociais da regiao. A pesquisa foi realizada por meio de questionarios enviados a todos os egressos que concluiram o curso no periodo compreendido entre 2001 e 2005, totalizando 436 individuos. Dos 60 respondentes, correspondendo a 13% do total de egressos do periodo, 81,7% atuam como psicologos e 18,3% trabalham em atividades nao relacionadas a psicologia ou estao momentaneamente desempregados. As areas de atuacao desses profissionais dividem-se em psicologia organizacional e do trabalho (35,8%); psicologia clinica (30,6%); psicologia social/ saude/comunitaria (20%) e; psicologia escolar (12%). Muitos profissionais atuam em duas ou ate tres areas diferentes em locais distintos ou em duas atividades em um mesmo local. A partir dos dados coletados observa-se o enriquecimento das praticas profissionais do psicologo, principalmente direcionadas aos campos sociais e da saude, focalizando o sofrimento da populacao e colocando em debate a formacao do profissional de psicologia diante das demandas sociais surgidas nas ultimas decadas. Os resultados encontrados podem contribuir para a questao da reestruturacao curricular dos cursos de psicologia, posto terem possibilitado avaliar o percurso academico dos egressos, bem como as demandas sociais feitas aos profissionais da area, abrindo novas diretrizes para o planejamento de oportunidades de reciclagens sistematicas e continuas. Palavras-chave: formacao, psicologia, egresso, profissao, demandas sociais.

Análise da dinâmica do trabalho portuário: estudo comparativo entre os portos do Mucuripe e do Pecém, no Ceará

Introduction: this paper presents a dock work analysis of two ports localized in state of Ceara – Mucuripe which, after the implementation of the Brazilian Ports Modernization Act of 1993, has a Workmanship Management Agency, responsible for dockworkers management, and Pecem, which is a mixed private terminal, managed by a State-owned company that works through service providers. Objectives: to compare the work conditions and the labor dynamics of specific operations common to both ports, as well as the risks to the health of the workers involved in these operations. Methods: interviews with managers, technicians and workers, as well as observation and video recordings of dock operations taken during 2010 and 2011. Results: work on both ports resembles in operations, machinery and risk exposure. There were differences between the two ports on the type of load handled and in some operations. However, the main differences reside in the manner in which workers are hired and paid, in the supervision and work pace. Conclusions: as stated by the subjects interviewed, due to technological innovations, some risks have been reduced in the two ports, but productive restructuring has brought new occupational hazards and made the intensification of work possible.