• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.213-260
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• 2013

This study pays attention to the restricted use and the possibility of standard position of contingent workers in Brazil. The labor market of Brazil has been developed by formal and informal labor sector, and informal sector includes various precarious workers as well as contingent workers. According to Brazilian Statistics Department, not contingent workers but informal labor focused in this paper have been slowly decreased since year 2000. In this context, this study investigated on the reasons of decreasing contingent employment in Brazil. The results demonstrate that decreased informal employment and instead increased standard workers could not be interpreted by recent the Braizil's economic boom. Along with literature review, the author conducted the case study regarding employment of contingent workers at six large foreign companies in Sao Paulo. The results of this show that the use of contingent employment was prohibited in regular daily works by the labor law and thus firms employed contingent workers in only temporary positions. Further, firms often promise standard positions for contingent workers when temporary employment contract was terminated since there is little or no exist of the differences of wage between standard and contingent worker in terms of 'same work same wage' and 'minimum wage'. In here, labor unions play a key role in employment change from contingent position to standard job. Consequently, decreasing of contingent workers and stepping stone to regular jobs seems to be triggered by both legal regulation on contingent employment and strong unions. This institutional perspective may extend the theoretical view on the use of contingent workers, and the author discuss that Brazil's case could provide practical implications to Korean labor policy.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.163-169
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• 2022

Background: It is estimated that about 13 million artisanal and small-scale miners carry out their activities under harsh, precarious, unfriendly, and risky conditions. Yet, our understanding of the extent to which these workers use personal protective equipment (PPE) and navigate through the various risks and hazards they face is still limited. This article has two main objectives. First, it explores the extent of usage of PPE among artisanal and small-scale miners for the prevention of hazards and risks. Second, it examines the coping strategies used by these miners as a response to experiences of occupational injuries and risks Methods: A cross-sectional survey of small-scale miners was conducted in six communities across three districts in Ghana, West Africa. The mixed methods approach was adopted. A total of 148 small-scale miners participated in the study. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) were held across the six communities. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests were used to analyse the relationship between some socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, and educational background) and the usage of PPE. Open-ended questions and responses from FGDs were analysed based on the content and verbatim quotations from miners. Results: Findings suggest that 78% of the miners interviewed do not use the appropriate PPE citing reasons such as cost, and their personal discomfort associated with use of PPE. There was no significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., sex, age, education and major mining activity) and the usage of PPE. The study further revealed four main coping strategies used by miners to handle the risks. These are rest, taking unprescribed medication and hard drugs, registration with health insurance scheme and savings and investments. Conclusion: This study shows that very few artisanal miners use PPE despite the significant hazards and risks to which they are exposed. The study recommends to the government to put in place measures to ensure that miners adhere to health and safety regulations before undertaking mining activities. This means that health and safety plans and use of PPE should be linked to the license acquisition process for miners.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.18-37
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• 2024

This study examines migrant workers' occupational health and safety issues through a case study of the UK construction industry, focusing on structural vulnerabilities. Migrant workers are at the bottom of the hierarchically fragmented labour market, performing outsourced hazardous work. Structural vulnerability focuses on the social structures that create hierarchies and increase risk in the workplace, rather than on individual responsibility or 'cultural' differences of migrant workers. The study considers the structural factors that perpetuate the migrantisation of risk in the UK construction industry, focusing on the structural necessity of low-wage migrant labour, precarious employment and the legal status of migrant workers, and discusses how these three factors interact to increase migrant workers' vulnerability to health and safety. The migrantisation of risk is not only a matter of occupational health and safety or universal workers' compensation, but also of the intertwining of labour migration policies with employment structures that rely on low-wage, low-skilled labour. This calls for proactive measures to address structural risks that go beyond passive declaratory policies that do not exclude migrant workers from education, training or legal systems.