Picture for illustrative functions solely. Photograph credit score: Ok. Pichumani
Two Indian nationals have been arrested for allegedly enslaving 33 farm employees, all from India, within the Italian province of Verona, in response to a media report, weeks after the nation was shocked by the tragic loss of life of a Sikh farm employee who bled to loss of life.
The monetary police additionally seized property value 475,000 euros from the suspects, who personal two agricultural corporations with no workers on their books and are allegedly complete tax evaders, ANSA information company reported on July 13.
The 2 alleged gang leaders have been arrested on July 13 and are beneath investigation for crimes together with slavery and labor exploitation, the Italian information company mentioned.
The problem of recent types of slavery in Italy lately got here into the media highlight following the case of Satnam Singh, a 31-year-old Sikh farm employee who bled to loss of life after being deserted by his employer after a strawberry wrapping machine severed his arm in Lazio, close to Rome, final month.
Singh, who was an Indian citizen, died as a result of “profuse bleeding,” the ANSA information company reported earlier.
On June 26, India known as on Italy to take swift motion towards these liable for Singh’s loss of life.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni mentioned final month that Singh, considered one of 1000’s of Indian migrants working within the nation’s fields, was the sufferer of “inhuman acts.”
“These are inhuman acts that don’t belong to the Italian folks. I hope that this barbarity can be severely punished,” he mentioned after a gathering of the Council of Ministers.
Pressured labour and the customarily violent exploitation of migrant farm employees is a continual drawback in Italy, particularly within the south of the nation.
Latina is residence to 1000’s of migrant employees, lots of them Sikhs, who work selecting fruit and greens for the native “agro-mafia”, in response to Italian media experiences.
The company in control of office accident insurance coverage, INAIL, lately reported that within the first 4 months of this 12 months, deadly accidents in Italy elevated by 4, reaching 268.
Final 12 months there have been about 100, he mentioned.