The social construction of charcoal’s labor market in eastern Amazon: corporativist strategies and social criticism

Abstract

This article discusses the process of construction and transformation of the charcoal labor market for the steel industry in eastern Amazonia, especially in Maranhão, with a theoretical contribution that reveals the actions of diverse agents of the social world. It seeks to figure out how social agents (social and union movements), politicians (State) and economic agents (companies) are acting in this market, through campaigns for changes in labor relations and the system for recruiting labor, which moved from a context of informality and lack of job security to a situation where workers are more protected through the CLT and the presence of institutions of state regulation, active in the supervision and negotiation of working conditions. The research is based on bibliographical research and the monitoring of the situation analyzed through the mobilization of quantitative data provided by the Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego (RAIS) and interviews with the main actors involved.