Research Project

• The experience of oil workers with union militancy throughout the national redemocratization (under evaluation by the CEP)

Abstract. In this project, we start from the understanding that, alongside the resumption of democracy (as our political history ended the cycle of the military dictatorship inaugurated in 1964), the movement for workers’ organization also grew gradually. Such growth was neither linear, nor without struggles and contradictions. Deepening the understanding of this process, this project proposes to focus on two cases related to the political organization of oil workers, namely: 1) oil workers in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, whose union (SINDIPETRO-RN) was founded in 1984 and the first election for the Union’s Board of Directors took place on April 17, 1985; 2) oil workers of the coast of São Paulo (SindPetro-LP), whose union was founded in 1958 with the designation of Cubatão Oil Workers Unions. The systematic consultation and analysis of the collection of documents of the aforementioned unions (union agreements, minutes of elections, minutes of meetings, union bulletins, etc.) and information available in the media, in books, among other sources, will allow a deeper understanding of the history of labor struggles and mobilizations, contextualizing the evolution of union history in Brazil. We will likely identify more precise stages of such a story. There are, in advance, some historical markers that will serve as a starting point: the administrations from 1984 to 1988, from 1989 to 1991, the 1990s and the ascendancy of neoliberal policies; unionism in the Lula and Dilma governments; the phase of the Temer and Bolsonaro presidency and the present moment. The first of the unions mentioned is affiliated with the Single Federation of Oil Workers (FUP) and the second, with the National Federation of Oil Workers (FNP), entities that articulate the category at the national level. This historical deepening will be guided by the question: what were the changes in the labor organization of oil workers in each of these periods in terms of struggles demanded, power relations and image in society? In addition to the historical reconstruction, then, the project will follow the goal of understanding the experience of the oil workers in participating in the process of creating the union and, later, in each historical stage of the union’s development. Thus, we plan to interview oil tankers from several generations. To this end, this axis of the research will be guided by the following question: How did oil workers of different generations experience the union political struggles in each of these historical periods, forging the identity of oil workers? Moving between the two research questions mentioned above will represent the application of a psychosociological approach in which the focus is on the phenomena between individuals, groups and society, which will allow, in turn, to rescue the historical character of the experiences of oil workers, historical and self-determined subjects of the process.

• Health and well-being of unemployed and precarious workers: An international study

Abstract. The current characteristics of the informational, financial and globalized economy, with the massive incorporation of new technologies in all economic, productive and social processes, have transformed the nature of work and all that it has been meaning (components, processes, requirements) all over the world. This project plans to study the new psychosocial effects and dysfunctions of precarious work and unemployment in Brazilian samples with different socio-occupational situations and trajectories and compare them with those of other countries, such as Spain, with different socioeconomic contexts. The study population is made up of young people, women (breadwinners or not), people with disabilities, immigrants and the long-term unemployed who are considered more vulnerable groups and susceptible to the impacts of changes in the world of work. This is a cross-sectional and comparative study that, unlike previous studies, will use methodological triangulation or multimethodological study and will adopt a gender perspective. Thus, this project aims to know: a) the different levels of impact of precarious work and unemployment on mental health and psychological well-being; b) the nature, typology and role of the social support received and the degree of effectiveness in the management of different resources and measures available to them throughout their life trajectory; c) the nature, typology and degree of effectiveness of the different coping strategies adopted by different types of population; d) the relationship between perceived social support and the coping strategies and styles adopted by the sample; e) translate and validate the instruments used in Brazil. The international study will contribute to a deep, systematic and comprehensive knowledge of these phenomena and will serve to improve the implementation of policies, plans, programs and concrete actions aimed at combating precarious work and unemployment. The analysis of its results has already resulted in the partnership in publications in the form of book chapters and scientific articles. However, analyses will still be carried out, and should generate new publications. The project had its first stages developed at UFMG and is currently being developed at UNISANTOS. It continues with the partnership with the research group coordinated by Esteban Agulló-Tomás at the Universidad de Oviedo (ES).