A fuss has arisen over the affair involving the Rai journalist Franco Di Mare who, a few days ago, made it known on live TV that he is fighting against a terrible disease, mesothelioma for which there is no cure but which must have been caused by the asbestos particles he encountered during his career as a war correspondent. For this reason, the National Institute for Occupational Accident Insurance intervened (Inail) explaining what his role is since the journalist asked the Viale Mazzini company for a service status, that is, a professional compensation (compensation or annuity) for the illness that never arrived.
The INAIL note
“With reference to what is reported in some articles dedicated to the story of the journalist Franco Di Mare, which understandably caused a sensation because it involves a professional of recognized value affected by a long-latency and particularly aggressive tumor like the pleural mesotheliomacaused by exposure to asbestos, must be done some clarifications on the role of INAIL“, reports a note from the Institute, which explains that it only discovered the case last October when from the protection of the Inpgi (National Institute for Social Security for Italian Journalists) to the Inail.
What the law provides
The 2022 Budget Law until the end of 2023 provided that accident insurance for professional journalists, publicists and practitioners “holders of an employment relationship of a journalistic nature continued to be managed according to the rules established by the legislation in force at the Inpgi as of 30 June 2022, which does not provide protection from occupational diseases”. This situation, however, has changed since January 1st this year: employed journalists “they are protected by the compulsory Inail insurance both against accidents at work and against professional diseases occurring starting from the same date“.
In the case involving Franco Di Mare, however, this practice is therefore not “blocked” by the institution as reported by several parties. “At the beginning of December, the Institute could not help but acknowledge that it was ‘unprotected person‘ pursuant to Inpgi regulations. For this reason the INAIL it is not legitimized to ascertain the link causal link between the profession carried out by the journalist and the pathology he contracted nor to issue a certification attesting or not to this correlation“, he concludes.
The controversy with Rai
In short, not even INAIL can do anything about Franco Di Mare’s tumor: the journalist recounted how events had unfolded when he discovered his illness. Numerous emails to Rai top management asking for service status”to support the diagnosis“but no one showed up.”They’re all gone“, said Di Mare, unable to understand what to do about his affair with the trade associations. A glimmer of hope, however, seems to have opened in the last few hours: the CEO of Rai, Roberto Sergioon his Facebook profile he announced that “Franco Di Mare will receive very soon as requested in the past years. I confirm that I was not informed until Monday morning’s press reports of my colleague’s state of health and his repeated requests.
I am close to him on a human level.”
