Precariado e sindicalismo no Brasil contemporâneo: Um olhar a partir da indústria do call center

Abstract

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in the 2002 presidential elections in Brazil led to a reconfiguration of the relationship between the trade union movement and the state. Supported by a cycle of economic growth, redistributive public policies and control of the social movements in the country, in particular trade unionism, the administation of Lula da Silva achieved unprecedented levels of public approval. However, since 2008 the number of strikes in the country has risen dramatically, reaching a record high in 2012. How should we interpret the fact that trade unionists aligned with the government are leading a powerful cycle of strikes which, directly or indirectly, runs counter to the government’s own interests? On the basis of a case study of the call centre industry, the sector which created the largest number of formal jobs in the 2000s, this article aims to analyse the relationship between the autonomous mobilisation of workers, the actions of the trade unions and the federal public policies, which underlies the current cycle of strikes in Brazil.