More than half of Brazilians who started their own businesses want to become a CLT again | Brazil

According to a survey commissioned by Central Africa dos Trabalihadores (CUT), 53.4% ​​of those interviewed believe that Brazilians generally prefer to become entrepreneurs; 56% of people who are currently self-employed in the private sector and have experience with a CLT scheme say they would definitely enter into a formal contract again.

The survey was conducted directly among 3,85,000 economically active and inactive population and digital platform workers in five regions of the country. It was carried out by Vox Populi with the participation of the Interdepartmental Department of Statistics and Social and Economic Research (Diese).

This is a wide-ranging work. Perceptions about having a formal job or being “self-employed” are just one of the aspects covered. According to Marta Maia, head of research and technology at Vox Populi, this work will enable the creation of a database that can be segmented and “contribute to relevant debates.”

The following realization caught the attention of CUT and Dieese management: Economically Active Population respondents say low wages, qualification requirements and long working hours are the main factors keeping them from regular work.. Low wages were cited by 44.5% and excessive demands by 38.7%.

“We have seen manufacturers offering two minimum wages, but requiring qualifications and proof of at least two years of experience. Drivers specializing in bi-articulated city buses also earn this wage as well,” said Sergio Nobre, national president of CUT. “Given this situation, many people quit their jobs and become app drivers,” he added.

According to IBGE’s latest National Household Sample Survey (Pnad), 37.8% of Brazilians in the job market fall into informal employment.

“It is the instability of formal jobs that has led to informalization,” Noble emphasizes. “It’s a recognition that as an employee you can’t pay your bills,” adds Adriana Marcolino, technical director at Diese.

For Professor Nelson Marconi, who studies the subject at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, many people began to see signed documents as “something undesirable.” For him, the wave of so-called “inequality” (incorporation) among less educated workers needs to be controlled, as they are the ones who demand the most social rights.

“It’s often a fantasy to imagine that this type of service guarantees a higher income. You work more, so you earn more. But you get paid less for the hours you work,” Marconi adds.

Union activists call the movement “necessary entrepreneurship.” In Noble’s case, the wave spread on social media. In short, he says, “it has an impact on the academic field and even the judicial system.” CUT has consulted the federal government and the judges of the Federal Supreme Court on this issue.

The study revealed that although entrepreneurship is a national aspiration for those interviewed, there is a contradiction between this perception and their personal aspiration. For the question “What kind of professional activity would you like to do?”, there was a tie between two diametrically opposed (and spontaneous) answers.

17.8% of those interviewed said their goal was to get a good job with a formal contract, and 17.6% said they would prefer to be self-employed. Although a minority of respondents (7.6%) want to pass the official exam, the stability that this type of work offers is highlighted as the biggest attraction, indicated by 48% of those who want to pursue this path.

The study revealed other interesting contradictions. A total of 40.9% of those in the CLT regime said they “definitely” want to become an entrepreneur. On the other hand, among those working as freelancers in the private sector who wish to return to the CLT system, 56% answered that they would “definitely” return, and 30.9% answered that they “may return.”

The proliferation of the use of the term entrepreneur also confuses many people. Some of the interviewees employed in occupations such as street vendors, bricklayers, hairdressers, IT technicians and manicurists declared themselves self-employed in the survey, while others said they were entrepreneurs. “One in six self-employed people identify as an entrepreneur,” Marcolino emphasizes.

However, Vox Populi’s research clearly points out the main reasons why professionals become self-employed. The first is flexible working hours, highlighted by 35% of those who prefer to work independently. “Being my own boss” came in second at 25%, followed by “Doing what I really love” (18%) and “Building something as an entrepreneur and leaving a legacy” (15%).

“There is a clear increase in the number of self-employed people among the less educated. This strengthens the need for discussions to avoid future obsolescence of CLTs that bring about extensive social protection networks,” Marconi said.

He also suggests limiting the activities that can be included in the MEI (micro-entrepreneur) tax system to avoid fraud and the risk of certain professionals being employed under a less burdensome system. “We need to establish what the limits of this are,” he says.

Marconi also remembers that there are large numbers of temporary workers who don’t retire, which tends to increase the hole in the Social Security system.

Some of the new professions are already starting to organize as associations and cooperatives, Noble said. In the state of Pernambuco, a union of motorbike and bicycle workers (Seambape) of delivery drivers, employees and self-employed workers has been established. In Salvador, an app-based drivers’ union called Sindomabu has also been established.