Abstract
Introduction:
artisanal fishing and shellfish gathering are considered special activities under the Brazilian general social security system for the purposes of social security benefits.
Objective:
to describe the access to social security benefits for a traditional fishing quilombola community in northeastern Brazil, whose main occupational activity is shellfish extraction and processing.
Methods:
a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in a community from Ilha da Maré, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Results:
213 fishermen (76.5% female) participated in the study, of which 62.9% did not receive social benefits. Although most participants undergoing an exhausting working hours (90.9%), with exposure to chemicals (83.9%), noise (69.9%) and solar radiation (88.2%), the majority of them do not earn an income that guarantees their family’s subsistence (79.6%).
Conclusion:
there is an important deficit in social security benefits access for a traditional quilombola population that meets the criteria for special insurance. Legislation must be adapted to ensure fairer access to social benefits for this population.
Keywords:
social welfare; occupational health; fishing; epidemiology, descriptive