Behind the death of Satnam Singh in Latina thousands of exploited labourers

The atrocious death of the 31-year-old Indian in the Agro-Pontino reopens the debate on gangmastering and exploitation in fields throughout Italy.

• Satnam Singh was 31 years old and worked as a laborer for 3 euros an hour:he died due to lack of first aid after an accident near Latina.
• The young Indian could have been saved, but his employer dumped him in the middle of the street to avoid trouble.
• From the Agro-Pontine to the countryside throughout Italy, the underground agricultural sector that exploits foreign slaves is a plague that has not been eradicated.

First exploited, then abandoned on the street:This is how Satnam Singh died, the 31-year-old laborer of Indian origin who was injured in a serious accident at work on a farm in Borgo Santa Maria, in the countryside of the province of Latina, south of Rome, for which he worked illegally, without a regular contract.

Behind Satnam Singh an army of slaves

Last Monday, Satnam Singh was involved in an accident at work, being crushed by a plastic wrapping machine, completely losing an arm.Although his condition immediately seemed very serious, instead of being taken to hospital, he was transported in a company van and abandoned on the street without help:an atrocious aspect of his being an illegal worker, which pushed his employer to get rid of him for fear of incurring legal repercussions.Legal repercussions which, however, absolutely will be: the owner of the farm, Antonello Lovato, is now under investigation for manslaughter and manslaughter, as well as violation of labor regulations.Satnam Singh, who was subsequently hospitalized and underwent emergency surgery at the San Camillo hospital in Rome, did not make it in the end, but according to doctors and investigators he could have been saved if he had been helped more quickly.To add another chilling tone to the story, there is the comment released to Rai da Renzo Lovato, Antonello's father, who spoke of the fact as "a lightheartedness that cost everyone dearly".

According to data fromVega Engineering workplace safety and environmental observatory in Mestre, 2024 already risks being the black year of deaths at work, which they have been 268 in the first four months of the year alone, more than two a day, especially on construction sites (but how can we forget, for example, the disaster of the Bargi hydroelectric power plant on 9 April, in which an explosion and fire hit the power plant located on the Suviana lake causing 7 deaths and 5 injuries):situations of lack of safety, lack of controls and irregular work are almost always at the root of these tragedies.

From the Agro-Pontine to Foggia, invisible and without rights

But in recent years, different journalistic and judicial investigations have brought to light the dramatic conditions of exploitation of immigrant laborers in Italy:workers, indeed practically slaves, victims of a system that sees them employed in inhumane conditions, with paltry wages and without any protection.Among the most affected areas, the Agro-Pontino stands out, where Indians of Sikh ethnicity are very numerous and where it is not uncommon for cases of gangmastering to occur within the same community.Here, numerous investigations have documented situations of serious labor exploitation.Many laborers are forced to work up to 12 hours a day, without breaks (even with the help of drugs capable of increasing resistance to fatigue, forced to be taken by the employer) and with wages that often do not exceed 3 euros an hour:Singh himself apparently earned 4 an hour.An investigation conducted by newspaper “La Repubblica” revealed how workers are often victims of gangmastering, a system in which illegal middlemen recruit cheap labor, withholding a substantial portion of their wages.

In this context, laborers live in precarious housing conditions, in shacks or dilapidated buildings, without access to basic sanitation.A not dissimilar situation can be found in other regions of Italy, such as Gioia Tauro plain in Calabria and the province of Foggia in Puglia.In these areas, gangmastering is a widespread practice, and migrant workers are often forced to live in informal settlements, without any type of social protection.

In 2016, theLaw 199 was promulgated to combat gangmastering and labor exploitation, providing severe penalties for those who use labor illegally.However, despite legislative progress, investigations and police operations demonstrate that the phenomenon is still widespread, with thousands of workers continuing to be exploited every day.“I think the time has come to return to the streets to demonstrate all together our indignation and commitment against this criminal system which leads to the death and desperation of thousands of people every year – he writes today Marco Omizzolo, trade unionist of Flai-Cgil and researcher who has been fighting for years against gangmastering and comes precisely from the Pontine agro-Pontine area - No more bosses, no more exploitation, no more gangmasters, no more nonsense like that of ethnic substitution or similar amenities".