Trabalho, Educação e Saúde - TES (Work, Education and Health) is an open access scientific journal, edited by the Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic School of Health, from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.
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Superexploitation of the health workforce in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

  • Antonio Angelo Menezes Barreto
  • Áquilas Mendes
  • Antonio Angelo Menezes Barreto

    Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Programa de Pós-Gradução em Saúde Pública, São Paulo

    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5917-9135

    Áquilas Mendes

    Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Pública, São Paulo; Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Economia Política, São Paulo.



Abstract

Capitalism, in its stage of dominance of fictitious capital, accentuated by the dimensions of its pandemic, economic and ecological crisis, has intensified the superexploitation of the labor force in the world and, particularly, in Brazil. In this perspective, this article aims to analyze the manifestations of the superexploitation of the workforce among health workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The article is structured in four parts. The first discusses the dimensions of the value of labor power. The second deals with the mechanisms of superexploitation of the workforce. The following section discusses the manifestations of superexploitation among health workers in recent years. And the final part presents data on how superexploitation has occurred in the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Currently, in the COVID- 9 pandemic scenario, there is a significant percentage of health professionals with work overload, with working hours beyond 40 hours per week, some having to resort to more than one employment relationship to survive. Such manifestations represent the terrible working conditions of this category of workers, in addition to contributing to illness and the high number of accidents at work. 

Keywords

Labor exploitation,
Health workers,
Working hours,
Capitalism,
COVID-19

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