HEALTH WORKERS AND PRECARIOUS WORK IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC

THE CASES OF BRAZIL AND PERU

Abstract

The pandemic forced a large part of the population to adopt measures of social confinement and social distancing. Such measures, recommended by the World Health Organization - WHO, were implemented to stop the spread and advance of the virus. However, sectors such as health, food and essential activities continued to work and provide services. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the many difficulties faced by workers in the various sectors in their daily lives, especially those who continued to carry out their activities in times of health emergency. The challenges brought about by the pandemic contributed to the deterioration and intensification of working conditions, thus intensifying the exploitation of workers in the most vulnerable sectors. This paper is an empirical essay whose objective is focused on describing and analyzing the context of labor precariousness among health workers in Brazil and Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, it addresses the pandemic situation and analyzes the dimensions of the precariousness of the work of health professionals in the midst of the health crisis. It is argued that, with the arrival of the pandemic, the situation of health workers worsened. This, specifically, due to the lack of adequate working conditions, the precarious infrastructure in which they carry out their activities, the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and, above all, the absence of measures to protect their health and integrity. Consequently, it is evident that these workers face, nowadays, the abandonment of the health sector, so it is suggested to improve labor policies that strengthen the right of health workers to a safe working environment.