OUTSORCING AND PRECARIOUSNESS IN BRAZIL’S ELECTRIC SECTOR

This study analyzes some outsourcing and job precariousness aspects in two important Brazilian state-owned electricity companies: Cemig (MG) and Copel (PR). By analyzing the quantitative and qualitative data obtained through interviews conducted with workers and union leaders, we observed an increase in indirect hiring, one of the main strategies adopted to reduce costs and increase productivity. Among the many aspects related to the precariousness of outsourced work, such as lower wages and weakening of collective bargains, we highlight the increase in the number of work accidents, revealing itself the most worrisome aspect of the outsourcing process in activities that, by their very nature, put workers at high risk, such as those carried out by companies in the electric sector.