HEALTH, SAFETY AND DEGRADING WORKING CONDITIONS IN MATO GROSSO – BRAZIL (1995-2013)

Abstract

This article is based on a research conducted on the morphology of contemporary slavery in Mato Grosso state, Brazil between 20th and 21st centuries. It departs from a qualitative and quantitative analysis of Reports issued by the special inspection units that found slave labor in Mato Grosso from 1995 to 2013. The study unfolds a portray of the main violations to workers’ health and safety norms that have been key elements to characterize the modality of contemporary slavery known as “work in degrading conditions”. The article discusses the role played by physical integrity and by workers’ life itself in the understanding of the new forms of slavery, in the context of recent disputes about the juridical concept of “work analogous to slavery” in Brazil. With this purpose, the research comprised the construction of a dataset which contains variables focused on the nature and different degrees of the violations of workers’ health and safety norms. With this approach, it contributes to build up the scientific debate on the frontiers between mere norm violations and degrading conditions in the workplace and in work relations.

Key words: Work in degrading conditions. Health and safety in the workplace. Contemporary slavery.