Os anos de 1980 no Brasil: serviço social, mercado de trabalho e particularidades alagoanas

Abstract

The subject of this Social Work final paper was The 1980s in Brazil: Social Work, the labor market and particularities in Alagoas and it was designed to answer questions about how the societal transformations that took place during the 1980s were expressed in the field of Social Work in Alagoas, especially with regard to the labor market for the professional category of social workers in that state. The general objective of the research was to understand Social Work in Alagoas in the 1980s in the context of professional renewal in Brazil; the specific objectives were: to understand the job market for the profession in the context of the social policies of the time, and to situate the changes in professional training. The work was based on bibliographical and documentary research and made it possible to recover the history of the profession at a national level and understand the particularities of Alagoas. We highlighted the process of critical renewal of the profession, the political and trade union reorganization of the category, and other changes made in the field of training and professional practice. At the same time, we observed how these issues were expressed in the Alagoas reality, such as the involvement of the professional bodies, CRAS/AL and the Alagoas Social Workers' Union (SASEAL), in national and specific professional demands. As far as the national job market for social workers is concerned, we highlight the impasses associated with unemployment, the replacement of professionals by trainees, the depreciation of salaries, among other issues, which are associated with the socio-economic crisis of the time. With regard to this market in Alagoas, we have exposed some aspects associated with the institutions that employ the professional category in the state, their insertion and their work. In addition, as well as recording and debating aspects of the profession's historical trajectory in the Alagoas region, this study enables reflection on professional advances and the need for continued defense of the legacy established during the 1980s in Brazil and in Alagoas in particular.