The “Liberty” of Work and the Traps of Piece Work

• Autor(a) principal: Tavares, Maria Augusta
• Data de Publicação: 2009
• Outros Autores: Lima, Roberta Oliveira Trindade de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista Katálysis (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/katalysis/article/view/S1414-49802009000200006

This article analyzes the relations of production in the sugarcane industry, identifying pay for piece work as a mechanism used by capital to intensify the productive capacity of workers and increase exploitation. The paper demonstrates that this form of pay, which is adjusted to flexible accumulation, far from guaranteeing the autonomy and liberty promised, reduces the time of socially necessary work, and therefore the value of the work force. The analysis uses Marxist economic categories to make clear that the labor protection laws do not resist the determinations of capital. The paper thus intends to reveal the inadequacy of policies in relation to the social question as a whole.