Social insecurity and vulnerability among casual laborer’s in the context of neoliberalism

Abstract

This study examines social process and social relations responsible of the persistence of social insecurity and vulnerability among casual cleaner in the context of neoliberalism. The study had mainly two specific objectives, first to examine the social process and associated forms of social insecurity and vulnerability facial casual cleaners, and second to examine the copying strategies of casual workers in the context of their labour Conditions. The study was guided by the assumption that, ongoing accumulation by dispossession as a second model of accumulation that operates in dialectical relationship to the system of commodity relations is the material bases of the persisting social insecurity and vulnerability among worker in the society as the whole and casual cleaners in particular. For the purpose of addressing the main objective in this study, qualitative research methods, namely, In-Depth interviews, Focus Group Discussion, Observation, and Documentary Review were used. The findings of the study revealed that casual cleaner face various forms of social insecurity and associated vulnerability. These include employment insecurity, income and wages insecurity, representation/union membership insecurity, work insecurity and skills reproduction insecurity. The study further noted that, casual cleaners in lieu of these social insecurity and vulnerability have adopted a wide range of coping mechanisms in terms of social networks, economic and religious mechanisms. The study concluded that social insecurity and vulnerability which is observed among casual cleaners is of social class, a product of neoliberal economic systems. Based on the findings the study recommends the intellectuals and researchers in Tanzania should generate guidelines informed by research findings such as from this study. Further the study calls for various researchers to shed light on how accumulation by dispossession has impacted on the social well-being of the laboring majority