Abstract

SILVA, Luna Gonçalves da et al. Employment contract, work and health conditions among truck drivers. Rev. Psicol., Organ. Trab. [online]. 2016, vol.16, n.2, pp. 153-165. ISSN 1984-6657.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17652/rpot/2016.2.675.

Truck drivers' working conditions can contribute significantly to impairing their health. This study examined truck drivers' statements regarding working conditions and health, by type of employment relationship. The qualitative research used the Collective Analysis of Work method with the participation of 40 truck drivers, some self-employed (n=20) and others working under contract (n=20), with a transport firm in São Paulo State, Brazil. In four group interviews, grouping by employment relationship type, the workers described their activity in response to the guiding question "What do you do at work?". Once recorded and transcribed,the statements were subjected to Bardin Content Analysis, from which two categories were developed: "Working conditions" and "Health". The self-employed drivers depended on the number of loads commissioned and transported, and reported greater freedom and autonomy in choosing destinations and routes, in addition to being able to take family members along on their trips. Both contractors and self-employed drivers mentioned the deficient state of Brazil's highway and truck-stop infrastructure. Precarious labor relations and short delivery timeframes were related to use of drugs including amphetamines, cocaine, and crack. Informal and precarious employment relations, typically involving sub-contracting, jeopardized the working and health conditions of these and other workers in the same context.

Keywords : Working conditions; employment relations; health.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )