IT
Call For Papers – SINAPPSI thematic issue 1/2024
Essential workers, vulnerable workers: after the pandemic
READ THE FULL CALL (ita – eng)
Guest editors: Maurizio Ambrosini, Guglielmo Meardi, Michele Raitano
The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed into the international debate a topic that currently, having the most critical phase of the emergency passed, is at risk of being set aside: the one dealing with essential jobs and workers performing crucial tasks not only for daily functioning but even for the very survival of society.
Healthcare workers are the most obvious example, but the pandemic has forced us to recognize the social relevance of several other categories of workers who were asked to remain at the working place and perform their duties even when the risk of contagion was highest: cleaning and sanitation staff, couriers, delivery workers, agricultural workers, caregivers for the elderly, healthcare assistants, retail clerks in large-scale distribution, food production and distribution chain workers, and more.
Such workers are often among the most vulnerable in terms of stability, social protection, rewards, and social recognition. As a result, immigrants are over-represented in many essential occupations, including those with unclear or irregular legal status.
This issue of the journal aims to gather statistical analyses and research papers on such an extensive and complex labor market sector, focusing on working conditions, social protection issues, ongoing changes, perspectives, and potential improvements. In particular, contributions are being expected to analyse the developments occurred during and after the pandemic, in order to examine whether and to what extent the acknowledgment of certain professions as “essential” in the public debate has led to changes in working conditions, related policies, and representation processes as well, or whether it has remained at the mere rhetorical/linguistic level. Contributions that illustrate the situation in other countries or propose comparative analyses will also be appreciated.
Within these issues, we encourage the submission of original papers (not submitted to other journals) of length between 5,000 and 8,000 words for publication in issue 1/2024. The papers must reach the editorial staff of Sinappsi ([email protected]) by 31st December 2023, in order to be submitted for refereeing (double-blind peer review) following acceptance by the scientific/editorial committee of the paper.
CONTACTS The editorial staff: [email protected]