There are statistics, numbers of illegal work in Modena, a community where it would be reasonable to expect that some watchwords such as legality and equity have taken root more than elsewhere. And instead there are hundreds of cases, at least one a day followed by Fisascat Cisl and its task force. There Journal of Modena has collected from the victims’ voice some of the many stories of harassment and violence that have been managed and resolved by Fisascat.
«The condition of economic need is the common thread that unites all the stories of exploitation and allows unscrupulous employers to make golden deals at the expense of their collaborators», he highlights Alessandro Martignettinumber one in Fisascat, the category that operates in the tertiary sector, tourism and services.
«EMPLOYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT»
«What surprises many casual observers, even in the institutions, is that so much time passes before the victims decide to ask for the protection of our union and to report. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of these people, at least for a moment: they are workers who break their backs to avoid losing their jobs, they need money to stay afloat with the rent and a cost of living which is important here – he continues Martignetti – When you live in this situation you don’t tread lightly and you don’t even have time to think about your rights, because you know that if you start talking about it with your boss nine times out of ten there will be problems. The most cynical employers know this and take advantage of this situation.”
Martignetti knows well that the sad combination between work and the black market and the condition of women emerges from his offices. «Exploiting is always an unacceptable form of incivility, exploiting a woman and reducing her to a sort of primitive condition, just like in the stories that “La Gazzetta di Modena” has collected, is a form of violence twice as shameful».
The Fisascat trade unionist advises you to «find out from the union before signing a contract or at the slightest alarm bell, to be best assisted». And he returns to ask that «there be controls upon controls in the sectors with a high intensity of black work and gray work, which is a black 4.0 disguised with the fig leaf of the on-call contract».
A CARER: «HE TERRIFIED ME»
The work of carers, so important for many elderly people, is a sort of traditional incubator for illegal work. Mary she is one of the many women from Eastern Europe who have arrived in Modena looking for work. In 2011 she found a job serving an elderly woman in the city center.
«Twelve years have passed and when I decided that I would no longer take steps back this woman’s son he started acting like a hyena with me – says Maria with her voice still trembling – He entered the house like a demon, he didn’t even say hello to me and he terrified me with his behaviors, while his mother cried. At a certain point she offered me a 24-hour contract, knowing that I would do more than 54.”
Maria finds other jobs «very often suffering unbearable treatment. For example, a woman I assisted lived in a top-floor apartment building, and she forced me to clean all the stairs and other families’ property. I was sick, I couldn’t find help from anyone. Only when a friend of mine recommended the union to me, I recovered my dignity, feeling free again and bringing home the money I was entitled to. I wish there were more people like Monica and the Fisascat staff.”
AN ALL-ROUNDER: «TOO MANY EXPECTATIONS»
A story that seems like fresh water compared to that of Alexey, also a carer, for almost ten years. «I was hired by a family to work six hours a day alongside an elderly man. Shortly after, the demands increased and they asked me to work at night and on holidays, without seeing a cent more and without a single day off.” Alexey will leave this position after a few years, falling from the frying pan into the fire: «Many times families have asked me not only to care for their elderly people with serious health problems but to iron and cook for everyone, cut the grass in their gardens, cultivate the vegetable garden and even paint the house. What did I get in return? When it went well someone said “thank you”». After seven years of work and unpaid contributions, Alexey needed unemployment, receiving only 400 euros a month. «I couldn’t live in Modena with this money, it wasn’t enough. To avoid ending up under a bridge, I turned to the union and there I met people who helped me.”
A WAITRESS: «SCAMMED AND HUMILIATED»
The story is impressive Lucia (strictly fictitious name to protect privacy), hired by a restaurant in the province in 2015 with a part-time contract which provided for 28 hours a week. For seven very long years Lucia worked an average of 43 hours a week, paid with the ruse of a scam.
Lucia becomes pregnant in 2022, needs the money from her job and cannot lose her job. «Pregnant I checked my situation, I realized that the overtime hours I worked were paid in advance by the severance pay in the pay slip. I asked my employer for explanations who denied everything, making me look like a liar. I didn’t know what to do, in such a delicate moment in my life, while I was expecting a baby, I felt cheated and humiliated. I didn’t think I could do it but I decided to quit – says Lucia -. That’s when I decided to turn to the union to try to recover my overtime money. I went to find out and with a thousand doubts. I was emotionally shattered but Monica and the Fisascat staff gave me the courage to carry on, kindly explaining my rights. After an industrial dispute I was able to get back what I was entitled to.”
Today Lucia is a full-time mother and when she talks about her son she is really happy.
So far they are stories of women harassed, underpaid, defrauded by the Modenese next door, the one with the kind manners and who then transforms.
A BARTENDER: «A HUNCH OF FLIES»
This is the story of Mario, bartender in the center of Modena. «I liked my job and what I did, over the years I have always met the needs by increasing my skills to be in line with a market that has tastes and trends that often change. So far, so good. When I decided to change occupationasking for recognition of my rights, I discovered I only had a handful of flies in my hand – highlights Mario – Without Fisascat I wouldn’t have made it, with them I rebuilt my work history, recalculating what was due. It was a long journey but in the end my rights were respected. That’s why I say to all those who are going through what I went through: don’t wait, contact the union immediately.”
