“Slavery? It was created by a left-wing government” –

“Today the agricultural civil service arrives. I have great respect for my political opponents and therefore I don’t think they are stupid, I have great respect and would never allow myself to define them ignorant, therefore I think they are in bad faith when they say that the Minister Lollobrigida wants to send the kids to pick tomatoes at three euros an hour.” Thus the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, speaking at the Legacoop Agrolimentare Assembly.

The agricultural civil service, Lollobrigida recalled, “was created by a centre-left government and I thank the very authoritative colleague Amato. In the founding law it is written, serve the country, and there is also agriculture”. “I imagine and hope that the associations that decide to participate – he highlighted – will not send underpaid kids to pick tomatoes. But to say that someone is exploited because they earn 507 euros a month is not just a farmers’ problem. I consider it absurd and a paradox say that those who work in agriculture with the civil service are exploited, and instead, for example, those who provide environmental protection services are not”. “I think that the civil service is a great opportunity to gain experience, we have also included reserve quotas because those who do the civil service will have 15% of places reserved in competitions. Today we apply the 2001 law”.