Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología

Antipod. Rev. Antropol. Arqueol | eISSN 2011-4273 | ISSN 1900-5407

Credentialism and Recommendation: The Bases for the Reproduction of the Iron and Steel Workers in Contemporary Argentina

No. 17 (2013-07-01)
  • Laura Perelman
  • Patricia Vargas
https://doi.org/10.7440/antipoda17.2013.08

Abstract

This article focuses on the reproduction of the iron and steel working class in contemporary Argentina. The ethnography looks at the case of the formerly state-run steel company Somisa, which was privatized in the 1990s. After privatization, staff recruiting and hiring practices underwent a substantial transformation, marking the end of the earlier custom-based mechanisms of intergenerational job transfer. However, workers still attempt to preserve and reinvent these mechanisms at the factory through credentialism and recommendation.

Keywords: reproduction of the working class, iron and steel industry, credentialism, recommendation