VENICE – The shadow of illegal work lengthens over the historic center of Venice: workers without a contract or forced to carry out tasks for more than the hours required by them contracts, carrying out grueling shifts and deprived of all rights. The financial police of Venice intensifies the fight against illegal work in the heart of the lagoon city, with an important operation carried out last weekend in the historic centre, and draws up an initial assessment of this year’s operations.
THE LAST OPERATION
Over the last weekend, an operation conducted by the first metropolitan operational unit brought to light 16 irregular workers employed inside two commercial buildings; a ballroom in the Arsenale area and a souvenir shop in Cannaregio. Of the 16 workers, 7 were completely “off the books”, without any contract, while the remaining 9 had other forms of contractual irregularity. Some irregular workers were caught on site during inspections, while to identify others the financiers used a meticulous examination of company documents.
THE FIRST MONTHS OF THE YEAR
Since the beginning of 2024, the financial police of Venice have identified 52 irregular workers within the historic center of Venice. Of these, 28 were totally illegal and 24 were employed irregularly, for example employed with qualifications or working hours different from those actually practiced. Some had “on call” contracts, not “communicated” to the Labor Inspectorate for the days subject to control. An alarming figure, which rises to 101 illegal workers, 86 irregular workers and 59 registered employers if we consider the entire province. The activities in which the irregular workers were employed are mainly linked to the tourism sector: restaurants, bars, dance halls and souvenir shops, which often take advantage of seasonality and the influx of visitors to exploit low-cost labour.
THE MEASURES
Overall, 19 employers were sanctioned in 2024 in Venice for the use of illegal or irregular labour, with fines ranging from 1950 to 11,700 euros for each irregular worker found and, in four cases, the proposal was made for the immediate suspension of the ‘activity. To avoid closure, the employers regularized the position of workers hired illegally (Italians, Chinese and Bangladeshis) by paying a further administrative fine of 2,500 euros. If the number of illegal workers exceeds the number of those present regularly in the company by 10%, the financial police proceeds with a closure report, if the employer does not immediately bring the employees into compliance. The employer will then have to send proof of the correct contractualization of all employees, so that the situation can be monitored by the financiers, avoiding new abuses in the future. Drastic but necessary measures to stem a phenomenon that undermines workers’ rights and legality within the business world. The fight against illegal work in Venice turns out to be a complex battle, which requires constant commitment on the part of the authorities, above all due to the strong tourist vocation, which makes it fertile ground, unfortunately, for situations of exploitation and ambiguous contractual positions that are difficult to individuate.
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