Transformations in sugarcane work in the 21st century: companies, unions and professional qualifications in São Paulo’s plants

Abstract

This article is based on research carried out between 2011 and 2012 in a group of small and medium-sized cities in the interior of São Paulo. In light of the configurations assumed by sugarcane work in that context, marked by the introduction of technologies, I address business and union guidelines around professional qualification aimed at rural sugarcane workers. The focus of the analysis is on a type of professional qualification developed within the scope of the so-called “Renovation Program”. I seek to reveal the elements that characterize it as a technical and behavioral adaptation of the workforce in a context of building strategies related to the notion of sustainability in the sector. Furthermore, I seek to relate it to the actions of rural unionism in that political-economic context and, finally, I explore the perceptions and practices of sugarcane workers, considering the working conditions that existed at the time in São Paulo’s plants.