The piece wage in coffee cultivation in the intermediate geographical region of Varginha-MG

Abstract

The piece wage category, analyzed by Karl Marx in The Capital, is current to discuss labour in coffee cultivation in the intermediate geographic region of Varginha, located in the south of Minas Gerais state, which has its economy structured in the coffee production for more than a century. During the harvest period, most coffee pickers are paid for the productivity of their work, i.e. for the amount of coffee harvested, characterizing the salary per piece. Thus, we analyzed the way in which this type of remuneration promotes the intensification and exploitation of labour in the agrarian conjuncture of southern Minas Gerais. Bibliographical research, documentary analysis, fieldwork and semi-structured interviews provided the theoretical-methodological framework for this study.