A very serious accident at work occurred on Monday afternoon on a farm near Borgo Santa Maria, in the province of Latina. A hay-cutting worker, of Indian nationality, was the victim of a machine that caused him to lose an arm and other serious fractures.
But the most shocking aspect of the story is what happened after the accident. Instead of being rescued, the man was loaded onto a 9-seater minibus and dumped in the street, near his home.
“We are not only faced with a serious accident at work, which is already alarming and avoidable in itself, here we are faced with the barbarity of exploitation, which tramples on people’s lives, dignity, health and every rule of civilisation”, he denounces Hardeep Kaur, general secretary of Flai CGIL Frosinone Latina, who was contacted by a colleague of the injured worker and immediately went to the scene. “You can’t work in these conditions,” adds Kaur.
The man, whose condition is serious, was urgently transported by air ambulance to the San Camillo hospital in Rome. The Carabinieri are investigating the episode and will have to ascertain responsibilities and reconstruct the dynamics of what happened.
Flai CGIL expresses its “maximum solidarity with the injured worker and his family” and announces that “it will do everything possible to protect his rights and to ensure that those responsible for this horror are brought to justice”. Finally, the trade union organization launches a heartfelt appeal to the institutions to “do everything necessary to eradicate the phenomenon of exploitation from our territory and to guarantee safety and dignity to all workers”.
This episode, unfortunately not isolated, brings to light the dramatic reality of exploitation and unacceptable working conditions to which many migrant workers in the agricultural sector are subjected. A warning to everyone to put an end to this barbarism and protect the rights and dignity of every person.
