Sector of canned goods in the region of Pelotas (RS): changes in production and conservatism in labor relations

Abstract

Most factories in the sector of canned goods in the region of Pelotas, in Rio Grande do Sul, have been closed since 1990, representing a heavy unemployment in the region, mainly for women, most employees in the business. The business reorganization weakened the position of workers and unions in the sector, and collective forms of organization found themselves restricted. From the interviews and oral history narratives, we sought to understand why the pace of changes in production, in technological terms, was not accompanied by changes in working relations. We sought to identify the elements and motifs from increased unemployment, informality and precariousness narrated by workers and, questioned whether the reasons for continuing predominance of manpower female and seasonality of production.