31-year-old Satnam Singh got caught in a packing machine while harvesting melons. It severed his arm and shattered his legs. His Italian employer, an agricultural entrepreneur from the Latina region south of Rome, did not provide first aid. The harvest worker died of bleeding in a hospital and the entrepreneur was arrested.
According to experts, undocumented workers in southern Italy receive 30 euros a day for up to 14 hours of work. Many workers, most of whom come from abroad, have to live in huts without electricity or water.
A quarter without employment contract
In a recent inspection of 310 agricultural companies in Italy, 206 were classified as “not in order” due to legal violations. Of the 2,051 workers examined, 616 were employed illegally and 216 were not registered. 171 people were reported and fines totaling 1.68 million euros were imposed.
According to Italy’s largest trade union, CGIL, illegal work is common in the fields, especially in southern Italy. Nationwide, it is estimated that 230,000 people are without a work contract – more than a quarter of Italy’s seasonal agricultural workers. The union is calling for weekly checks.
