Seasonal work
Harvest worker bleeds to death after accident on Italian field
It is estimated that around 230,000 people are employed illegally in Italian agriculture, including many migrants. Photo
© Luca Bruno/AP/dpa
Fruit and vegetables from Italy can also be found in many German supermarkets. But the working conditions there are sometimes miserable – as the death of a harvest worker shows. Now the horror is great.
Meanwhile, the public prosecutor’s office is investigating the person allegedly responsible for the farm, a 37-year-old Italian. According to current information, the Indian – a man named Satnam Singh, who came to Italy with his wife in 2021 – did not have a work permit. It is also still unclear whether he even had a residence permit.
230,000 people employed illegally
It is estimated that around 230,000 people are employed illegally in Italian agriculture – including many migrants from countries such as India and Pakistan who work for low wages. A large part of the production ends up in German supermarkets. The unions speak of systematic exploitation.
The accident occurred in a field near the municipality of Borgo Santa Maria, about 60 kilometers south of Rome, where melons and zucchini are grown in particular. According to media reports, harvest workers there earn around four euros an hour. According to the investigation, Singh got caught in a machine that covers large areas of the fields with plastic. His wife was in the immediate vicinity when the accident occurred. She told the police: “I begged the owner to help us, I begged him on my knees. But he dropped us off in front of the house and ran away.”
It was said that neighbors were the first to help and call the emergency services. An hour and a half passed between the accident and the first aid. Singh was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Rome, where he died on Wednesday as a result of his injuries.
Trade unions complain about modern form of slavery
The general secretary of the Flai trade union in the region, Hardeep Kaur, said: “Unfortunately, it’s not a horror film. It’s all true.” Other trade unionists described the treatment of foreign harvest workers in Italy as a modern form of slavery. According to an earlier report, refugee children are also employed in the fields, especially in the south.
The employer explained his behavior by saying that he had panicked. According to information from the daily newspaper “La Repubblica”, he also justified his actions by saying that the harvest worker had used the plastic sheeting machine without permission. The public prosecutor’s office is now investigating for negligent homicide, failure to render assistance and violations of safety regulations.
Case triggers debate
The death of the harvest worker sparked a debate about how to treat foreign harvest workers. Many newspapers reported extensively on the case. Labor Minister Marina Calderone described the incident as an “act of barbarism.” Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, a brother-in-law of the right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, said: “We are faced with a tragedy that cannot leave us indifferent and must be fully investigated.”
In addition, illegal work in the fields is to be more strictly controlled and punished more severely. As a sign of mourning, the regional administration ordered that flags in front of town halls and other state buildings be flown at half-mast. The state will also cover the costs of the funeral. On Thursday, temperatures in the south of Rome were almost 40 degrees. Work in the fields continued.