Abstract
This article discusses outsourcing in contemporary organizations. Outsourcing is understood here as part of a broader process of flexibility of labor and of social institutions, which followed the decline of Fordism. This process has been responsible for an increase of fragmented and precarious labor markets in all industrialized countries. The analytical perspective adopted in this article discusses the implications of outsourcing for workers. In light of the thesis of wage society crisis and flexible accumulation, whose reference is found in the school of Fordist regulation, this article argues that outsourcing reinforces the relations of domination and social control over the workforce, which lowers or removes historically achieved rights. This process has been much more pernicious in newly democratic societies such as Brazil, where new flexible work practices contribute to weakening the structure of the labor market, historically marked by low wages, excessive employment instability, low skill workers, weak collective organization, and lack of social rights. Despite advances in employment and income indicators during the last decade, outsourcing has become widespread reiterating this predatory pattern of labor relations.
Keywords:
Outsourcing; Precarious work; Loss of rights.