MULTIPLICITY LABOR IN PARELHAS/RN: AN ANALYSIS OF MINING WORKERS
agriculture; artisanal mining and small-scale; human health
The countryside man has a deep relationship with the environment. Because of this, he develops coping strategies with the environment, especially in periods of drought, seeking to ensure his survival in his own place. In geologically favorable regions, mining is one of the developed activities, especially for having a lot of demand and low need for specialization. This study aims to characterize the mineral-based activities workers in Parelhas/RN, assess their working conditions and to verify the existence of an employment multiplicity among them. Therefore, bibliographic and documentary research was conducted, as well as use of forms applied by the Family Health Program in the municipality in 2007. After analyzing the data using the chi-square test, it was observed that the mining activities are carried out in a rudimentary way, which requires a lot of physical effort, with records of work accidents, contact with venomous animals and exposure to dust, that can cause respiratory diseases. It was also seen that there is an employment multiplicity of this workers, who associate mineralbased activities with agriculture or other activity. Those who associate mining with agriculture are the most vulnerable, which shows the need for further investigation of this group.