Some 40% of Italian companies in the
agricultural, construction, road works and fruit and vegetable
nursery sectors have not taken any measures to protect their
often migrant workers from the heat of this sweltering near
record high summer, Italy's labour inspectorate said Wednesday.
Migrant farm hands, especially, slave under the hot sun for a
pittance across the country, driven by ruthless and sometimes
brutal gangmasters.
Concern has been heightened by the June death of Satnam Singh,
an off-the-books 31-year-old Indian farm labourer who bled out
after being dumped outside his hut with an arm severed by
wrapping machinery placed beside him on a fruit picking box at
Latina south of Rome.
"Our attention is still very high on the phenomenon," said
Labour Minister Marina Calderone.
In the first 10 days of August 294 out of the 736 companies
checked did not meet standards on protecting workers form the
heat.
There have been several heat-related worker deaths in Italy in
recent years.
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