Gangmastering. Maxi inspection throughout Italy: 206 irregular farms

Out of the 310 companies controlled. 171 people reported, of which 10 for labor exploitation, over 200 illegal workers. Calderone: "The largest surveillance operation ever carried out in a single day"

ROME – Almost 7 out of 10 agricultural companies are illegal due to the lack of safety conditions and exploitation of labour: this is the balance of the extraordinary inspections carried out across Italy yesterday, Wednesday 3 July, against gangmastering, budget which is announced today. The Carabinieri and labor inspectors were in fact engaged in a major surveillance action on the agricultural sector, desired by the Ministry of Labour, which led to the reporting of 171 people, 10 of whom for gangmastering, two kidnappings and the discovery of 216 workers “in black”.

“THE LARGEST SURVEILLANCE OPERATION SURVEILLANCE NEVER CARRIED OUT IN A SINGLE DAY”

An operation that takes place just over 20 days after the death of Satnam Singh, the Indian laborer who died in the province of Latina due to a terrible accident at work and in conjunction with the ‘Ceremony to commemorate victims at work’, held today to the House. During which Minister Marina Calderone also intervened to illustrate the outcome of what she defines as “the largest surveillance operation ever carried out in a single day“, i.e. 310 agricultural companies inspected, “in which irregularities were found for over 66%, not only regarding workplace safety, however, but also regarding the management of relations with employees”.

IRREGULARS OVER 66% OF CONTROLLED AGRICULTURAL COMPANIES< /h3>

Thus, on 3 July 2024, in the general framework of the actions adopted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies aimed at combating forms of illicit intermediation and labor exploitation (so-called gangmastering), the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Labor and the National Labor Inspectorate, involving their peripheral branches, carried out an extraordinary surveillance service in the agricultural sector throughout the national territory.
In detail, 310 agricultural companies were inspected, of which 206 were found to be irregular (66.45%), while the workers checked were 2,051, of which 616 of them were found to be irregular (30.03%) and, in particular, of the latter 216 were found to be completely ” in black” (10.53%). 786 job positions (38.32%) were found to be held by non-EU citizens, of which 308 (39.18%) were employed irregularly, in particular, 96 completely “off the books” and 22 without a regular residence permit.

128 ACTIVITIES SUSPENDED, 171 PEOPLE REPORTED ( OF WHICH 10 FOR CORPORATE)

As a result of the checks, 128 suspension measures for entrepreneurial activity were issued (41.29%), for an amount equal to 250,800 euros, of which 60 for “illegal” work and 51 for serious safety violations. Fines and administrative sanctions were also raised for a total amount of 1,686,161.00 euros. With reference to activities of criminal relevance, 171 people were referred to the Judicial Authority, including 157 company managers for violation of the legislation on health and safety in the workplace (Legislative Decree 81/ 2008), as well as having issued 382 prescriptions and adopted 2 seizure measures. Ten people were referred, between the provinces of Latina, L’Aquila, Turin, Cuneo , Rieti and Caltanissetta for the crime of gangmastering (illicit intermediation and exploitation of labour).

LATINA, 2 CARAVANS AND SEIZED DORMITORY ROOM FOR SERIOUS HEALTH AND HYGIENIC DEFICIENCIES

In particular,in the province of Latina, inside a greenhouse, two caravans and a room used as a dormitory were seized, organized with 9 beds, whose mattresses were placed on the floor . The same site inspected generally presented serious health and hygiene deficiencies in the work environments, with the presence of mold and encrustations on the walls as well as no windows that could guarantee adequate lighting and ventilation. A total of 690 Carabinieri from the Carabinieri command for the Protection of Work and the Territorial Armed Forces and 550 inspectors from the National Labor Inspectorate, for a total of 1240 units strong>.