Hundreds of Indians show towards “slavery” in Italy

Hundreds of Indian farm employees rallied in a city close to Rome on Tuesday to demand justice and an finish to “slavery” in Italy following the tragic demise of a day labourer, which uncovered the brutal exploitation of undocumented migrants.

Satnam Singh, 31, who was working with out authorized documentation, died final week after a machine severed his arm. His employer left him on the facet of the highway along with his severed limb.

“He was thrown out like a canine. There may be exploitation, we endure it day by day, this should cease,” mentioned Gurmukh Singh, head of the Indian group within the Lazio area in central Italy.

“We come right here to work, to not die,” he added.

The procession, which carried banners with slogans comparable to “Justice for Satnam Singh”, wound via the streets of Latina, a city in a rural space south of Rome that’s house to tens of hundreds of Indian employees.

For the reason that mid-Nineteen Eighties, Indian employees have been working in Agro Pontino – the Pontine Lagoons, a former marshland – the place many harvest pumpkins, leeks, beans and tomatoes and others are engaged within the manufacturing of mozzarella.

The tragic demise of Satnam Singh, which is underneath investigation, has reignited debate on the peninsula about tackling systemic abuses within the agricultural sector, the place farmers or clan chiefs usually use undocumented employees who’re exploited.

Day laborers obtain a median of 20 euros ($21) a day for 14 hours of labor, in line with the Osservatorio Placido Rizzotto, which analyses the working circumstances of agricultural employees.

Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has tried to cut back the variety of undocumented migrants in Italy, whereas on the similar time increasing authorized migration channels for non-European employees in an try and fight labour shortages.

However in line with the agro-industrial affiliation Confagricoltura, solely 30 p.c of employees with a visa arrive in Italy, which means there will not be sufficient employees to fulfill the demand of farmers.

The Italian monetary police recognized almost 60,000 undocumented employees between January 2023 and June 2024.

Italy’s largest commerce union, CGIL, estimates that as much as 230,000 folks, or 1 / 4 of the nation’s seasonal agricultural employees, should not have a contract.