2024-07-14 21:29:51
33 Indians employed as agricultural laborers have been released by the Italian police. They worked in slave-like conditions in Verona.
The authorities seized almost half a million euros from the two people who allegedly harassed the migrants, Reuters and BTA report.
The issue of labor exploitation has been in the spotlight in Italy since a case in June in which an Indian fruit picker died after his hand was cut off by a machine. At the time, police said the alleged ringleaders, also from India, brought their compatriots to Italy for seasonal work, demanding 17,000 euros each and promising them a better future.
The migrants were given farm jobs, worked 7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day, and were only paid 4 euros an hour, which was even taken from them to pay off their debts to their superiors, police explained and added that the treatment of migrants is similar to “slavery”.
Some were made to work overtime without pay to pay an additional €13,000 and obtain a permanent work permit, “which they never actually received,” the police statement said.
Like other European countries, Italy suffers from a labor shortage, often filled through an allegedly fraudulent migrant work visa system.
The country also has a problem with the violation of labor law. According to data from the National Statistical Institute, as of 2021, around 11% of Italian workers are employed illegally, with over 23% in the agricultural sector.