HUMAN RESOURCES IN STATE HOSPITALS MANAGED BY HEALTH SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS: THE LOGIC OF THE PRIVATE

Abstract The main goal of the present study was to analyze the politics of human resources in health in state hospitals managed by health social organizations in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. We conducted a qualitative research, choosing as the field of investigation the social organizations that manage public hospitals in the state. During the data collection process, we sought the regulations and management contracts signed between 2008 and 2016, and performed individual interviews with the human resources managers of the participating institutions. During the analysis of the fieldwork materials, we used the content analysis technique, and chose five empirical categories of analysis of the contracts: the employment relationship model, the permission to hire legal entities, the percentage of expenses with staff, the procedure used to hire staff, and the goals regarding people management. The interviews were analyzed through the units of meaning proposed by Kvale. The results showed that the contracts omit legally-required information and have too many amendments. The people management practices are typical of private companies, and follow some guidelines of the work in health, but without reference to the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS, in the Portuguese acronym). They adopt methods that are different from the rules of the public service entrance exams and the non-precarization of labor.