CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Palma Goncalves Anselmo, Sara |
|---|---|
| Title | A Continuum of Precarity: The Disposable Lives of Portugal's Cleaning Workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic |
| Summary | On March 2, 2020, the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Portugal. Starting then, the public narrative was that everyone was in the same boat, as the virus supposedly did not attack differentiating on gender, race, nationality, class, or any other social category. However, everyday life told a radically different story. Industrial cleaning workers, an essential part of the frontline of the fight against the pandemic, represent a paradigmatic example of this inequality. As society acknowledged the critical role of cleaning in curbing the transmission of the virus, they assumed the responsibility of preventing its spread and maintaining the functionality of society during the unprecedented “new normal”. Unlike other sectors with remote work options, cleaning workers were unable to retreat to the safety of their homes, as their indispensable tasks required their physical presence at the workplaces. Despite the looming fear of contagion, they did not abandon the public space and did not cease fighting the disease. Every day, they risked their own lives to safeguard the well-being of others. In spite of the significance of their roles, cleaning workers have historically faced numerous challenges regarding their working conditions, compensations, and the acknowledgment of their essential contributions. Even prior to the pandemic, their work was often regarded as unskilled, resulting in a consistent undervaluation. As a result, they have been deprived of safe working environments, fair remunerations, and respect for the crucial tasks they perform. In this sense, cleaning work often serves as a prime example of precarious employment. This thesis seeks to contribute to the current body of literature by examining the intersectionality of precarious work, with a specific focus on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on occupational sectors predominantly employing women in precarious positions, namely cleaning. Given this, my research question was: how did the Covid-19 pandemic impact the precarious working conditions of the intersectional Portugal’s industrial cleaning workforce? To answer it, I conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with industrial cleaning workers employed by firms located in the municipality of Seixal, a southern suburb of Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. Based on the insights gathered from the interviews, I argue that the Covid-19 pandemic perpetuated a continuum of precarity for cleaning workers. Even before the outbreak of the virus, cleaners were a trapped workforce within the sector due to financial hardships and intersectional aspects of their identities. As a consequence, they worked in the sector out of financial need, a situation that placed them in a setting of forced flexibility and rendered them vulnerable to precarity. In reality, they already experienced several manifestations of precarity as a result of the convergence of different neoliberal market forces. During the pandemic, the combination of increased workloads, lack of protection, appreciation, and recognition exacerbated the pre-existing precarity faced by cleaning workers. However, driven by the necessity to secure income for themselves and their families, they had little choice but to continue working in unsafe conditions. In the context of an economic crisis characterized by limited job prospects, various intersecting factors, such as advanced age, migrant status, low levels of education, and responsibilities for dependents, further heightened their vulnerability. As a result, they were compelled to persist in their employment, perpetuating a continuum of precarity that characterized their work experiences. Thus, the Covid-19 pandemic was not an isolated crisis for these workers but rather an amplification of the pre-existing precarity they faced. |
| Supervisor | Fodor, Eva; Sachseder, Julia |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/palma-goncalves_sara.pdf |
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