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Analysis of dock work dynamics: a comparative study between the ports of Pecém and Mucuripe in Ceará

Abstract

Introduction: this paper presents a dock work analysis of two ports localized in state of Ceará – Mucuripe which, after the implementation of the Brazilian Ports Modernization Act of 1993, has a Workmanship Management Agency, responsible for dockworkers management, and Pecém, which is a mixed private terminal, managed by a State-owned company that works through service providers.

Objectives: to compare the work conditions and the labor dynamics of specific operations common to both ports, as well as the risks to the health of the workers involved in these operations.

Methods: interviews with managers, technicians and workers, as well as observation and video recordings of dock operations taken during 2010 and 2011.

Results: work on both ports resembles in operations, machinery and risk exposure. There were differences between the two ports on the type of load handled and in some operations. However, the main differences reside in the manner in which workers are hired and paid, in the supervision and work pace.

Conclusions: as stated by the subjects interviewed, due to technological innovations, some risks have been reduced in the two ports, but productive restructuring has brought new occupational hazards and made the intensification of work possible.

Keywords:
dockworkers; dock modernization; workers’ health

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