The precariat pandemic: Exploitation overshadowed by COVID-19 and workers’ strategies in Poland

Paweł Żuk and Piotr Żuk

The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 2022, vol. 33, issue 1, 200-223

Abstract: Based on the material obtained from focus group interviews conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the article analyses the mechanisms used by employers towards employees, as well as the adaptation strategies applied by those in precarious employment in Poland. The authors’ considerations refer to anti-worker changes introduced under the pretext of the pandemic in the capitalist labour market: layoffs and cuts in wages, manifestations of discrimination against precarious workers and the potential attitudes of employee self-defence. The authors conclude that it is almost certain that under the conditions of post-pandemic capitalism, the number of the precariat will grow and the neoliberal system will want to retain as many of the anti-worker solutions introduced in the shadow of the pandemic as possible. JEL codes J70, J81, J28

Keywords: precariat; inequalities; capitalism; COVID-19; workers’ strategies; austerity; class (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:33:y:2022:i:1:p:200-223

DOI: 10.1177/10353046211067255

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