Assistance and unions in Brazil: 1980/1990

Assistencialism has borne several senses that have been produced in specific historical contexts. Two telephone industry trade unions have been studied, the one from Pernambuco and the one from Rio de Janeiro. During the 1980s, they struggled for the end of the assistencialism. But in the 1990s productive restructuring and the privatization process have deeply changed the character and the styles of action of the professional group. Again, each one in a specific manner has opted to go back to assitencialism: professional qualification schools, English courses, job cooperatives, health plan administration, community-focused actions and partnership with NGOs.