Gangmastering, migrants exploited in the vineyards 10 hours a day, without breaks and for less than one euro an hour: ten arrests in Piombino

Ten people were arrested on suspicion of exploitation of the work of 67 non-EU citizens employed for the harvesting of vegetables and olives and for cleaning vineyards in the provinces of Livorno and Grosseto. It happened in the Piombino Cas. The precautionary measures, prepared by the Livorno carabinieri, affected people of Pakistani nationality who […]

Ten people they were arrested because accused of exploiting the work of 67 non-EU citizens employed for harvesting vegetables and olives and cleaning vineyards in the provinces of Livorno And Grosseto. It happened in Cas of Piombino. The precautionary measures, prepared by the Livorno carabinieri, affected nationals Pakistani that exploited them compatriots And Bengalis. The investigation, called “Barefoot” was coordinated by the Livorno prosecutor’s office and conducted by the operational and mobile unit of the Piombino carabinieri company with the support of the Livorno Labor Inspectorate.

The operation made it possible to reconstruct “the illicit use of labour put in place by 6 starters of individual companies operating in the agricultural sector, which also make use of other entities for the recruitment, daily transport and control of workers” they employed 67 non-EU citizenstaking advantage of their needy status and hosted in the “Cas Le Caravelle of Piombino”.

No regular employment contract for workers. Furthermore, it was established “a repeated violation of the regulations relating to working hours“, with “peaks of 10 hours per day, without the expected breaks.” And the remuneration “widely below 10.56 euros foreseen by the contract”. Not only that: “In one case even equal to 0.97 euros per hour with systematic violation of safety and hygiene regulations”. During the operation, a preventive seizure decree was also executed equal to 45 thousand euros “as the profit ascertained by the INPS following the failure to pay social security and insurance contributions for illegally employed workers”.