Occupational tasks and changes in the wage structure

This paper argues that changes in the returns to occupational tasks have contributed to changes in the wage distribution over the last three decades. Using Current Population Survey (CPS) data, we first show that the 1990s polarization of wages is explained by changes in wage setting between and within occupations, which are well captured by tasks measures linked to technological change and offshorability. Using a decomposition based on Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009), we find that technological change and deunionization played a central role in the 1980s and 1990s, while offshorability became an important factor from the 1990s onwards.

Inflation and occupational choices

This paper studies the impact of (high rates) of infiation on ocupational choices in a model where the demand for labor is derived from a production technology that uses capital, productive labor, and managerial services done by administrative labor and money; while the supply of both kinds of labor is rigid in the short-run due to irreversible professional choices. The dynamic path of the economy after stabilization plans exhibits the main sty!ized facts reported in the literature inc1uding an initial consumption boon followed by a gradual adjustment. In its open economy version, the initial phase of the transitional dynamics exhibits capital infiight. The model also generates an increase of income inequality during the trasitional dynamics.

Computerization, occupational tasks and the labor market : evidence from a natural experiment in Brazil

A hipótese de “rotinização" ou estabelece que computadores substituem tarefas rotineiras e complementam tarefas abstratas não rotineiras. Essa dissertação de mestrado test algumas predições naturais sobre o impacto “rotinização" sobre o mercado de trabalho de uma grande economia em desenvolvimento. Uso o final da política de reserva de mercado para mini e micro-computador (Outubro de 1992) como um experimento natural que gera variação exógena nos preços de tecnologia para identificar os efeitos do uso de computadores em salários e insumos de trabalho. Conjuntamente, os resultados contribuem para a crescente literatura sobre “perspectiva das tarefas" por trazer implicações testáveis de um queda exógena de preços de computador em um contexto com uma estratégia de identificação crível.

The impact of social security reform on occupational and retirement behavior : a quantitative assessment for Brazil

Population ageing is a problem that countries will have to cope with within a few years. How would changes in the social security system affect individual behaviour? We develop a multi-sectoral life-cycle model with both retirement and occupational choices to evaluate what are the macroeconomic impacts of social security reforms. We calibrate the model to match 2011 Brazilian economy and perform a counterfactual exercise of the long-run impacts of a recently adopted reform. In 2013, the Brazilian government approximated the two segregated social security schemes, imposing a ceiling on public pensions. In the benchmark equilibrium, our modelling economy is able to reproduce the early retirement claiming, the agents' stationary distribution among sectors, as well as the social security deficit and the public job application decision. In the counterfactual exercise, we find a significant reduction of 55\% in the social security deficit, an increase of 1.94\% in capital-to-output ratio, with both output and capital growing, a delay in retirement claims of public workers and a modification in the structure of agents applying to the public sector job.

Qualidade dos empregos e a carcinicultura marinha nos laboratórios da praia de Barreta/RN

To present research had for objective to study the quality of the employment in the maturation Laboratories and larviculture of the Beach of Barreta/RN, adopting for so much the criteria used by Reinecke(1999) to characterize a quality employment: surrender, benefits non salary, regularity and work reliability and of the wage, contractual status, social protection, work day, intensity of the work, risk of accidents and of occupational diseases, involvement in linked decisions to the section work, possibility for the development of professional qualifications. Of the exam of the data it was verified that the generated employments are considered employments of good quality. However, this result should be analyzed to the light of a context of extreme informality and of precarization of the work. Therefore, the results should be relativized. He/she/you imports to retain that one of the limitations of the study resides in the impossibility of generalizing the data for the whole section of the sea carcinicultura. In spite of that fact, he/she is considered that the objectives of the research were assisted fully and that the characterization of the profile of the employment generated by the section of the shrimpculture it is extremely important for the drawing of public politics gone back to foment this activity.

Are cutout handles used when available in real occupational settings? Description of grips and upper extremities movements during industrial box handling

In order to achieve better postures and decrease musculoskeletal risks adequate design of hand/box couplings for manual materials handling (MMH) are still needed. No studies evaluating upper limb movement thorough direct measurements during box handling in workplace were identified in the literature. In this study we describe the types of grip and movements adopted by ten workers when handling redesigned boxes with cutout handles between different heights on industrial pallets. The new handles were used by 90% of the workers through different types of grip. Electrogoniometric measurements showed relatively safe forearm and wrist movements, although elbow inadequate range of movement was recorded. Despite the good acceptance of the cutout by workers, the new design requires extra internal space in the boxes reducing applications for this alternative of box.

Acidentes de Trabalho : análise em profissionais de enfermagem que atuam nas unidades de terapia intensiva e urgência Natal/RN

It is a descriptive-exploratory research, with a quantitative approach, aiming to characterize typical occupational accident suffered by the professionals from nursery group, in the Intensive Care Units and Emergency in a hospital in Natal-RN, trying to identify the factors that contribute to those accidents; to identify some information taken by those professionals related to the accident risks; to know the procedures taken after each accident. This sample is composed by 176 professionals that are 44 nurses and 132 nursing technicians/auxiliaries, collected from March to April 2010. The results related to the personal characterization of the nursery group showed that 31 (18.61%) are between the 36-40 years of age; 148 (84.09%) females and 96 (55.68%) had finished High School. Related to the professional characterization, 53 (30.11%) are nurses, and 123 (69.88%) nursing technicians and auxiliaries; 44 (25.00%) are working as nurses, and 132 (75.00%) as nursing technicians and auxiliaries; 45 (25.56%) are working in the nursery area between 15 to 20 years and 11 months; 53 (30.11%) are in this institution between 10 to 14 years and 11 months; 79 (44.88%) work in the ICU; 55 (31.25%) are working in this area from 1 to 4 years and 11 months; 110 (62.50%) like to work in this area; 161 (91.47%) work 30 to 40 hours per week; 90 (51,13%) have another employment. Related to knowledge about typical occupational accident, 167 (94.88%) said they know about it; 96 (54.54%) know the accident rules; 103 (58.52%) think it is important to talk about this subject in the nursery courses; 92 (52.27%) said this subject is important to be discussed in the work and 372 (87.73%) think education is necessary to reduce accident. Related to the data about accidents, 104 (59.09%) have suffered typical occupational accident, among them 69 (39.20%) have suffered it once; 47 (36.19%) did not register any accident; 60 (57.69%) were caring some patient during the accident; 47 (45.19%) of them occurred in the ICU; 50 (48.07%) professionals were working during the night period; 69 (66.34%) have suffered perforation; 86 (82.69%) had upper limbs affected; 64 (61.53%) were affected by needle; about the reason of the accident, 89 (60.54%) said it occurred due to carelessness. Related to the accident evolution, 88 (85.57%) did not need to remain off work after accident; 13 (81.25%) remained off work during 15 days; 87 (83.65%) had no sequelae and for 101 (97.11%) it was not necessary rehabilitation. We conclude that typical occupational accident can occur with young workers who admit a knowledge about the subject, however they do almost nothing to prevent it. We believe this research has contributed to the characterization of this kind of accident suffered by the nursery group of a public hospital in Natal, and it can stimulate the creation and reformulation of personal protection against typical occupational accident suffered by nursery professionals

Riscos ocupacionais e acidentes de trabalho em um serviço de atendimento móvel de urgência do Rio Grande do Norte

Exploratory, descriptive and quantitative study with prospective data, performed in the Mobile Emergency Care Service in the metropolitan region of Natal/RN, in order to identify the knowledge of the multidisciplinary team about the rules of standard precautions and worker safety, to identify occupational hazards peculiar to the activities of this service; characterize work-related accidents (WRA) and know the procedures adopted after each WRA. The population consisted of 162 professionals and data were collected between the months of November and December 2010. As for personal and professional characteristics, of the 162 professional, 12,96% were physicians; 6,79%, nurses; 33,95%, nursing technicians, 46,29%, conductors; 74,70% were male; 43,21% were between 31 and 40 years old; 69,33% lived in Natal/RN, 50,00% had completed high school; 58,64% were married; 69,75% had children, 46,91% were between 1 and 4 years of training; 61,73% had improvement courses; 59,25% had 3 to 4 years of service; 54,32%, with 1-4 years experience in emergency; 44,44% received 1-2 minimum wages; 78,40% received insalubrity premium; 67,28% worked in Basic Support Unit (BSU); 83,95% had journey on SAMU Metropolitano of 31-40 hours per week; 52,47% had other employments. As for knowledge of rules of standard precautions, safety and occupational hazards, 99,38% knew what it was WRA; 62,96% gave incomplete answers; 74,07% knew the rules of prevent WRA; 46,67% acquired this knowledge in lectures; 53,09% knew Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); 71,60% gave incorrect answers about the importance of standard precautions; 45,06% never received an educational intervention on this issue; 89,51% said that educational interventions in the prevention of WRA are very important; 90,12% pointed out this as a very important issue in the workplace; 27,00% suggested guidance on the topic in the workplace; regarding the physical hazards, 34,57% considered noise as the most important; about chemical hazards, 78,40% chose the gases and smoke; for biological hazards, 48,77% reported contact with the blood; for mechanical hazards, 80,86% said that were transport accidents; about ergonomic risks, 40,12% say it is the tension/stress in the care of critically ill, psychiatric and aggressive patients; and there was an average of 4,5 to the feeling of safety in the workplace. Regarding the data on the WRAs occurred, 31,48% experienced at least one accident event; 72,55% did not notify it; 60,98% answered that there was no routine for notification; 56,86% were performing patient transportation; 49,02% were hurt in the Basic Support Unit/Rescue Unit (BSU/RH); 60,78% occurred during the day; 96,08% of professionals were in normal work schedule (24 hours on duty); 31,37% had contusion; 58.82% had damage to members/pelvic girdle; 43,14% had traffic accidents. About the evolution of the WRA, 62,75% did not have to take time away from work; 76,47% had no sequelae; 88,24% did not require rehabilitation; no professional had a change of occupation. And by means of univariate logistic regression, showed that the nurses and male sex were risk factors for the occurrence of WRA. We conclude that there were gaps in the knowledge of staff regarding WRA, emphasizing the need for continuing education in biosafety in the service.

Occupational exposure of physical therapists to electric and magnetic fields and the efficacy of Faraday cages

Objective. Measure physical therapists' exposure to the electric and magnetic fields produced by 17 shortwave diathermy devices in physical therapy clinics in the city of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo State, Brazil. Compare the observed values with the exposure levels recommended by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Observe the efficacy of Faraday cages as a means of protecting physical therapists from exposure to oscillating electric and magnetic fields.Methods. Electric and magnetic field measurements were taken at four points during actual physical therapy sessions: in proximity to the operator's pelvis and head, the devices' electrical cables, and the electrodes. The measuring equipment was a Wandel & Goltermann EMR-200.Results. The values obtained in proximity to the electrodes and cables were 10 to 30 times higher than ICNIRP's recommended occupational reference levels. In the shortwave diathermy treatment rooms with Faraday cages, the fields were even higher than in treatment rooms not so equipped-principally the magnetic field, where the values were more than 100 times higher than the ICNIRP exposure limit.Conclusions. The electric and magnetic field intensities obtained in this study are generally above the exposure levels recommend in ICNIRP standards. It was also observed that the Faraday cage offers physical therapists no protection, and instead, increases their level of exposure.

Rapid determination of desorption efficiency, and analysis of solvent mixtures for occupational exposure studies

An analytical procedure has been developed for simultaneous determination of solvent mixture vapors to enable evaluation of occupational exposure. To determine the desorption efficiency the volatile components of the solvent mixtures were generated from a glass tube filled with glass wool. This device is easy to prepare and use. These vapors were then collected in activated charcoal tubes and analyzed by capillary gas chromatography. The method was tested with a mixture of 22 solvents, including aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, esters, and ketones, oil at low concentrations. All the components were defected. When a 99: 1 mixture of carbon disulfide-dimethylformamide was used for desorption the efficiency was > 75% for most of the solvents.

In vivo CYP2E1 phenotyping as a new potential biomarker of occupational and experimental exposure to benzene

Assessing CYP2E1 phenotype in vivo may be important to predict individual susceptibility to those chemicals, including benzene, which are metabolically activated by this isoenzyme. Chlorzoxazone (CHZ), a specific CYP2E1 substrate, is readily hydroxylated to 6-OH-chlorzoxazone (6-OH-CHZ) by liver CYP2E1 and the metabolic ratio 6-OH-CHZ/CHZ in serum (MR) is a specific and sensitive biomarker of CYP2E1 activity in vivo in humans. We used this MR as a potential biomarker of effect in benzene-treated rats and, also, in humans occupationally exposed to low levels of benzene. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (375-400 g b.w.) were treated i.p. for 3 days with either a 0.5 ml solution of benzene (5 mmol/kg b.w.) in corn oil, or 0.5 ml corn oil alone. Twenty-four hours after the last injection, a polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution of CHZ (20 mg/kg b.w.) was injected i.p. in both treated and control animals. After 2, 5.10,15, 20,30,45, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min from injection, 0.2 ml blood was taken from the tip tail and stored at -20 degrees C until analysis. A modified reverse phase HPLC method using a 5 mu m Ultrasphere C18 column equipped with a direct-connection ODS guard column, was used to measure CHZ and its metabolite 6-OH-CHZ in serum. No statistically significant difference in the MR was observed, at any sampling time, between benzene-treated and control rats. The concentration-versus-time area under the curve (AUC), however, was lower (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney test), whereas the systemic clearance was higher (p < 0.05) in treated than in control rats. Eleven petrochemical workers occupationally exposed to low levels of airborne benzene (mean +/- SD, 25.0 +/- 24.4 mu g/m(3)) and 13 non-exposed controls from the same factory (mean +/- SD, 6.7 +/- 4.0 mu g/m(3)) signed an informed consent form and were administered 500 mg CHZ p.o. Two hours later a venous blood sample was taken for CHZ and 6-OH-CHZ measurements. Despite exposed subjects showed significantly higher levels of t,t-MA and S-PMA, two biomarkers of exposure to benzene, than non-exposed workers, no difference in the MR mean values +/- SD was found between exposed (0.59 +/- 0.29) and non-exposed (0.57 +/- 0.23) subjects. So, benzene was found to modify CHZ disposition, but not CYP2E1 phenotype in benzene-treated rats, nor in workers exposed to benzene, probably due to the levels of exposure being too low. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Saúde do trabalhador no SUS: desafios e perspectivas frente à precarização do trabalho

Refletir sobre o campo saúde do(a) trabalhador(a) é o objetivo deste estudo. Busca-se sublinhar o significado das condições de trabalho para o ser humano do ponto de vista da saúde. A premissa não é quantificar, mas inferir que as condições de trabalho podem gerar danos à saúde, mas nem sempre apresentam de imediato a sua relação com o trabalho. São discutidas, a partir da abordagem qualitativa, três situações, as quais contemplam os trabalhos rural, informal e infantil e, como resultado, verifica-se a contradição da categoria trabalho, que, se por um lado é sinônimo de sociabilidade, por outro, contraditoriamente, constitui-se em mecanismo de exclusão social na medida em que é realizado sem o reconhecimento dos direitos sociais e trabalhistas. Verifica-se a expansão de formas de trabalho sem regulamentação, tais como o domiciliar e o familiar e os realizados em locais como a rua e o lixo. Encerra-se a reflexão com destaque ao papel do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) na assistência integral à saúde dos(as) trabalhadores(as) e ao desafio de atuar na perspectiva de prevenção e promoção da saúde do trabalhador de modo integrado e articulado aos demais órgãos públicos que atuam nesta área.

Gestão da segurança e saúde no trabalho em empresas produtoras de baterias automotivas: um estudo para identificar boas práticas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Diretrizes para implantação de sistemas de segurança e saúde do trabalho em empresas produtoras de baterias automotivas

O desenvolvimento de Sistemas de Gestão da Segurança e Saúde no Trabalho (SGSST) ganha um significado cada vez mais importante no desempenho das empresas, pois, por meio deles, é possível obter a promoção da saúde e satisfação dos trabalhadores e a redução dos riscos de acidentes. No entanto, para que um SGSST obtenha bons resultados, as empresas precisam estar atentas às dificuldades comumente encontradas durante o seu processo de implantação, procurando solucioná-las de maneira antecipada e estruturada. Pelo exposto, este trabalho tem como principal objetivo apresentar diretrizes, baseadas no referencial teórico e nos resultados dos estudos de caso realizados, para implantação de SGSSTs em empresas fabricantes de baterias automotivas. Para o seu desenvolvimento adotou-se o método de pesquisa qualitativa a partir da realização de dois estudos de caso em empresas fabricantes de baterias automotivas localizadas na cidade de Bauru. Os instrumentos de coleta de dados foram entrevistas semiestruturadas, análise de documentos e observação in loco. Ao final do artigo, são propostas diretrizes relacionadas aos seguintes elementos: alta direção, estratégia organizacional, cultura organizacional, departamento de Segurança e Saúde do Trabalho (SST), técnicos de SST, recursos humanos, treinamento, equipes multidisciplinares, comunicação interna, resistência à mudança, indicadores de desempenho, ferramentas gerenciais para solução de problemas de SST, gestão de projetos, recompensas e incentivos, e integração do sistema.

Saúde do trabalhador: entre os dispositivos legais e as práticas efetivas

The health worker is seized in this research beyond the mere applicability of legal devices concerning the legislation of Labor, in order to be established correlations with activities alluding to the public power in the ambit of State of Rio Grande do Norte (RN). This dissertation is an cutting of analysis circumscribed in the research, "Accidents at work: law, citizenship and justice," of the Grupo de Estudos Seguridade Social e Trabalho (GESTO) of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). The overall goal turned to apprehend and relate contradictory elements inherent compliance of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the supermarket which showed the highest occurrence of legal violations recognized by the Labor Justice of RN in the period between 2006 and 2008 . The specific objectives turned to identify, from the condemnatory sentences, violations inherent in the protective direction of the OH & S legislation; analyze the relationship of health damages to workers at the supposed recognition of rights claimed in condemnatory sentences and correlate violations inherent in the legislation OSH impacts on the health of workers, from data contained in expert reports. The justification for perform the research backed up, among other factors, in the fact that class of activity has been presented as the most recurrent in condemnatory sentences, since it chose to focus the analysis on documentary evidence from the supermarket which showed greater expression in relation to violations of the OSH legislation. From a qualitative perspective, the methodological approach was based on content analysis of thirteen condemnatory sentences, handed down by the potiguar labor justice, and three expert reports from a large supermarket in the city of Natal/RN. Aftermaths are evidenced relating to the cyclical processes of reorganization of capital, demanding requirements for labor organizations whose strategies for survival include identifying mechanisms to extract as much of the work force. Structural determination and ideological context that puts into question the historical achievements of workers, for example the legal devices aimed at preventing workplace accidents, expressed in this research as relativized, showing limitations of reach, as was inferred the indemnities, by material and moral damages, arising from Work-Related Musculoskeletal Diseases (MSDs'S), recognized by the laborite judiciary