Employmentweb_low

EmploymEnT, woRk, and hEalTh inEqualiTiEs - a global perspective
income between rural and urban workers, which triggers migration.
Women's salaries are, on average, 24 per cent lower than men's,
and several studies show that in the informal economy, the
workload for women is substantially higher than for men
(Valenzuela fernández, 2004).
Informal workers have little capital to invest in safe working
conditions, and since the work force is scarcely qualified, there is a
high index of work-related accidents (orsatti & Calle, 2004). access
to water, hygiene and electricity is limited, which increases the
transmission of infectious diseases; Bolivia and Haiti have the
highest rates of tuberculosis in the region (EClaC, 2005). In rural
areas, independent workers are more likely to die from poor living
conditions and lack of access to basic services (Tennassee, 2001).
The use of health services is very unequal between rural and
urban centres. In rural sectors, forced labour practices known as
"debt hooks" are employed, where workers have to work to pay off
debts contracted from land or business owners. Ethnicity is an
important constraint on access to services. for instance, being part
of an ethnic minority or not being able to speak spanish can be a
barrier to health system access. a correlation exists between poverty
conditions and indigenous people; this is heightened in rural areas,
and affects women and children more severely (EClaC, 2005).
president Evo morales’s first term (2006-2010) was
characterised by the implementation of leftist nationalist and proindigenous
policies, which have broken away from neo-liberal
policies and counteracted the effects of the global economic crisis.
a new constitution was approved and control over natural resources
such as natural gas increased substantially, increasing revenue and
international reserves. all of this allowed for increased investment
in public services, coverage for services such as electricity, access
to adequate sewage systems and potable water, as well as
sanitation. With these increased resources, the government also
initiated programmes targeting the poor, investing in the public
school system, establishing care services for infants and their
mothers (as part of a large-scale programme aimed at reducing
infant mortality) and increasing pensions in order to prevent poverty
amongst the elderly. While Bolivia is till a tremendously poor
country, these policies have benefited the most under-privileged
classes and reduced social inequalities.
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