Caporalato and agromafie at the center of today’s confrontation in Lecce with the Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese, the Minister of Labor Andrea Orlando and Don Luigi Ciotti di Libera.
Debates and seminars for the whole day in connection with the Faculty of Legal Sciences of the University of Salento. The ministers speak, in conjunction with the Attorney General at the Court of Cassation Giovanni Salvi, of the contrast of the institutions to the phenomenon of illegal hiring.
Prevention and repression of the phenomenon are the cornerstones of the interventions, starting with that of the Minister of the Interior who said: «Our task is to work together, restoring dignity to workers and strength to the legal economy. Situations must be accompanied, managed. Where they let themselves go, we also affect the dignity of the workers themselves “.
«The exploitation of workers requires joint actions by public institutions and the academic and associative world. – said the minister – I believe that this synergy is very appropriate around a challenge that requires an effort of analysis and elaboration of adequate contrast measures ». And he added: «The attention of the Minister of the Interior took the form of actions to monitor and combat the phenomenon. The activity of the ministry of labor is very important. On July 14, a memorandum of understanding was signed for the prevention and contrast of the exploitation of labor, with the minister of labor, the minister of agriculture and Anci, favoring a virtuous agreement. It represents a further step in the general framework of contrast, significantly strengthening legality, in a sector such as agriculture that is strategic and in need of protection. We have set up an implementation consultancy, a governance body, whose president is Maroni, in his capacity as former minister of labor and the interior. A leading role can be played by the prefects in identifying the most suitable tools in the area. Several initiatives have already been taken ».
The head of the department also spoke of a reference “to the protocol of May 2021 in Foggia, in which all the institutions participated, from the president of the Puglia region to the prosecutor of Foggia”. “We have foreseen – remembers Lamorgese – the conversion of the Cara di Borgo Mezzanone into a regional guesthouse, with the aim of combating illegal hiring by eliminating the degradation of the area that hosts, especially in summer, a large number of foreign workers in the agri-food sector “. «The activity carried out by the extraordinary government commissioners in Castel Volturno, Foggia and Reggio Calabria was also important – underlines the minister again. Two million euros were committed in 2020 for sites affected by illegal settlements and about 3.5 for the current year. With the Pon funds, 16 projects were activated for 43.5 million euros to support the conditions of working regularity ».
On the issue of landings, the minister stressed that «in this year the numbers are growing, not only in Italy. Let’s see what is happening in England, let’s see in Spain where there has been a 30 percent increase, it’s a bit of a world that is overheated by the various economic, social and political crises. We with Tunisia, for example, are trying to bring about a project that should provide for a rate of flows destined for seasonal workers who would come to Italy, precisely for the collection of fruit and vegetables ».