There is a defeat worse than that of the Italian national football team at the European Championships. A defeat that has ancient roots and few antibodies. Deaths at work continue to be a disgrace for Italy. Data from Inail and the Workplace Safety Observatory Vega recorded, in the first five months of 2024, 369 victims at work, 11 more deaths than in 2023 (up 3.1%). 286 victims in the workplace and 83 who die at a later stage, following injuries, as a consequence of the accident while working.
In the unfortunate “red zone” of the regions with the most victims in the workplace are Valle d’Aosta, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Sicily and Puglia. Both the north and the south, in short. And in Sicily, how do we combat the phenomenon? At present, recalls Francesco Lucchesi, of the regional secretariat of the Cgil, “there are 49 labor inspectors on the island, plus 29 on fixed-term contracts sent by Inail until December 31. In Messina, there are ten labor inspectors, plus 4 also sent by Inail and on fixed-term contracts”.
“Rather than 14 labor inspectors for the Messina area, we would need at least fifty”
In reality, Lucchesi highlights, “the minimum number of labor inspectors in Sicily, based on a criterion established by the Sicilian Region itself in the document on personnel needs a few years ago, spoke of the need for 256 labor inspectors. For the Messina area, for example, it is more than 14. There should be at least fifty.”
In turn, Ivan Tripodi, general secretary of Uil Messina, has repeatedly stressed: “Once the indignation has passed, which lasts a few hours or a few days until the funerals of the victims, then everything goes back to how it was before. 1040 are the official deaths declared by Inail for 2023 in Italy. 12 deaths in the Messina area (and in 2024 a 41-year-old worker died last February 7, ed.). As the national secretary Bombardieri recalls, nautical homicide was introduced and, in that context, 15 deaths have occurred in the last 20 years. Still too many but not comparable to deaths at work. Just warm blankets, declarations, chatter and nothing more”.
The Tragic End of Satnam Singh and the Sleep of Politics
With these numbers, there are companies that would be subject to checks every 17-20 years, it has been calculated. The tragedy of agricultural worker Satnam Singh, 31, has had a great echo at a national level. Loaded into a van and unloaded in front of his house, when the carabinieri arrived his arm was resting on a vegetable crate. Transported to the San Camillo hospital in Rome, he died from blood loss and the severity of his injuries (source “Domani”). A tragic occasion to evaluate how much a person’s life is “worth”.
But indignation must be transformed into a political project. All this beyond the emblematic invitation in Roman dialect from President Meloni (“Guys, get up, too”) to Salvini and Tajani when the Chambers discussed gangmastering and the Indian laborer, yet another victim of exploitation at work. How much is a life “worth”? For many “bosses” and “little bosses”, in the sleep of politics, very little.
The image is from the archive.
