The green employment concept and its pertinence: reflections from its application to waste management in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the pertinence of the concept of green employment and its application to waste management in the Metropolitan Area of ​​Buenos Aires, Argentina. The methodological approach is qualitative, based on interviews with key actors and secondary sources.

Among the main findings, it is observed that the methodology used to estimate green employment makes visible the need to improve the socio-labor inclusion situation of some workers, but it ignores and subverts other relevant issues: identifying as green those jobs associated with a linear economy approach and not the occupations associated with the circular economy, internationally accepted as superior in environmental matters. Furthermore, in terms of decency of employment, it equates the situation of those who work in extremely precarious conditions with those acquiring better performance in socio-labor variables. This is not adequate as an anchor for carrying out diagnoses and policy design.