The new Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Francesco Lollobrigida, signed the inter-ministerial decree on “social conditionality”, which aims to combat illegal hiring and the phenomenon of exploitation of workers in the sector. The sanctions relating to the failure to apply this decree, which will be agreed together with the Ministry of Labor, are instead postponed to a subsequent provision.
The signing of the decree comes on the same day in which the carabinieri in the Foggia area arrested 5 people on charges of illicit intermediation and exploitation of work at four Apulian farms. The arrests are the conclusion of the investigation that began in October 2020, following the road accident involving a van with 5 African farm workers on board. Illegal labor was recruited in the slum of Rignano: the laborers were exploited and paid 4 euros for each 300-kilo box of tomatoes.
Italy already has a law to combat illegal hiring, the 199 of 2016, a provision which, however, over the years has never been able to fully unfold its effects because it has remained inapplicable especially in the part of the placement of seasonal workers: the vulnus of the law , the trade unions say, lies in not having created an efficient system for matching labor supply and demand, in short, a legal alternative to the hiring.
“The signing by Minister Lollobrigida of the inter-ministerial decree on social conditionality is excellent news for the world of work – commented the Secretary General of Fai-Cisl, Onofrio Rota – now we must all commit ourselves to implement the social clause provided for by the new CAP as a further tool to combat and prevent exploitation and to protect health and safety in all workplaces ».