Words of condolence combined with clear stances on the need to do more for safety in the workplace
Close to World Day for Health and Safety at Work and the day after Labor Day, a construction site is covered in blood. The provincial secretaries of Fillea Cgil, Filca Cisl and Feneal Uil intervened on the death of the 59-year-old construction worker in Floridia – respectively Eleonora Barbagallo, Nunzio Turrisi And Severina Corallo – who express their condolences to the family but above all ask that safety be put first. “It is an absolute priority that cannot be bypassed – say the three trade unionists – The controls are not sufficient, the labor inspectorate is undersized: greater synergy between the institutions is needed. Security is not a cost nor even a luxury, it is a duty which corresponds to the inalienable right of every person. Let us remember the words of President Mattarella “ We need a concerted commitment from institutions, unions and workers (with the indispensable adequate training) so that a true culture of prevention spreads”. The numbers relating to accidents at work are disheartening: in 2023 there were more than 1,500 and in these first four months of 2024 they are already at over 350. It is no more acceptable than on construction sites – continue Barbagallo, Turrisi and Corallo – there are workers who are not correctly classified with the relevant national collective labor agreement, not only to avoid circumvention of the rules and regulations but also to give workers the necessary tools to know their rights, especially regarding safety. And as regards the points-based driving license by the Government, it is an idea which however is not enough to stem the river of blood and which therefore must be modified for all sectors, truly hitting those who cause accidents, without providing for loopholes”. Finally, Corallo, Turrisi and Barbagallo, as members of Asso RLST (Association representing workers for territorial security) also ask for both economic and political support from ANCE, the association of building constructors.
The general secretary of the CGIL of Syracuse also intervenes on the tragedy of Floridia Roberto Alosi
“Work is needed to live and not to die. Deaths at work are a massacre and the most recent data are not comforting: dying at work is not a fate, it can and must be avoided. In recent years, work has been devalued, even though it is a right enshrined in the Constitution and therefore should be protected, certainly.
Those who lose their lives at work are the unaware victims of a flawed system that urgently needs to be changed; There are two fundamental aspects that need to be changed: the wrong laws and a legislative system that has implemented precarious employment (one of the fronts on which injuries and accidents are most reported).
With the new procurement system, the endless chain of contracts and subcontracts of various kinds has been cleared, as has the interposition of labor or temporary workers: it is a chain that must be interrupted immediately, also from a legal point of view. A contractor who can proceed with the activity through a series of subcontracts and not be held accountable for health and safety checks is one of the issues on which we ask this Government to intervene and reverse course.
It is the current productive and entrepreneurial system that is not good: the idea that competition between companies must take place through cost compression places the risk of safety on workers, but safety at work cannot be a cost, it cannot be a frill: it is an investment and it is the element that qualifies the work.
It is urgent to implement preventive and training activities, but also inspections. In the fight against the violation of safety regulations, the CGIL has proposed a Durc which does not only look at contributory regularity but which also includes respect for safety and therefore provides that the release of this document is granted, for example, to companies whose activity for at least 5 years it has not been marked by serious injuries or fatal accidents, thus excluding from public procurement those companies that have demonstrated illegality, irresponsibility, inability to comply with the provisions regarding safety. And how essential the issue of safety at work is for the CGIL is also demonstrated by the current referendum of which one of the four points concerns precisely this delicate issue.”
Instead, he talks about a massacre that continues regarding yet another fatal accident at work there Territorial Secretariat Ugl
“Close to May 1st, we find ourselves having to take note of three further tragedies at work, two of which in Naples and one in our province (Floridia).
A 57-year-old worker in Lettere, in the Neapolitan area, lost his life when he fell from the third floor of a building around which a construction site was being set up. At almost the same time, a 60-year-old worker died on a construction site in Viale dei Tigli. In the afternoon of the same day, another workplace tragedy occurred in Floridia, where a 60-year-old worker lost his life when he fell from a shed.
UGL joins in the pain of the families and loudly reiterates the need to stop this whirlwind of tragedies affecting our country.
The safety of workers, whatever the working sector, must be an absolute priority for all of us. Despite the various appeals, both from the President of the Italian Republic and from the Trade Unions, they remain unheeded by the government which with a declaration acknowledges the need to review the laws on safety in the workplace, but to date no provision has been put in place. The life of workers “It is not a commodity, we cannot accept dripping deaths”, “Work is linked, inextricably, to the person, to his dignity, to his social dimension, to the contribution that everyone can and must make to participation in the life of society. Unfortunately we note that when these tragedies occur, both the mass media, but above all the political class, the following day totally forget about the statements previously released and everything remains unchanged or even worse than before. The prevention and assessment of the risks deriving from the work they are carrying out must be the basis of all this and the role of those responsible for site safety.
In the Sicily Region, despite various requests from the trade unions and appeals launched to increase the workforce of labor inspectors and S.PRE.SAL, no new competitions are announced.
Who will have to do the checks? Who is responsible if there is a shortage of staff?”
Calls for concrete actions Anmil Syracuse which in a note renews its commitment to safety in the workplace
“The ANMIL of Syracuse joins the family of the worker who lost his life yesterday in an accident on a construction site, yet another tragedy that could have been avoided and which adds to the unacceptable list of deaths at work”. Thus the President of the ANMIL of Syracuse, Matteo La Spinain the aftermath of the serious accident involving a 59-year-old worker who fell from the roof of a building he was working on in Floridia, in the Syracuse area. “We fully share in the pain of his family members, to whom ANMIL is already offering its closeness and availability, so that they are recognized for all the benefits to which they are entitled by INAIL, even if nothing will ever be able to compensate for this loss ”.
Condolences were also expressed by Giorgia Lauretta, member of the ANMIL Executive Committee and widow of a man who fell at work, also from Syracuse, who declared in this regard: “I am close to the family, whose suffering in these moments I know well, having been a widow myself for many years and having had to raise two children alone with many difficulties, both moral and material, because there is a lack of real support for widows”. “Furthermore, effective psychological and employment support is essential, so that these already dramatic events do not become an unsustainable burden in the lives of entire families. Thanks to ANMIL I have been able to count on great help and for this reason for over twenty years I have wanted to make myself available to those who have had the same experience as me with active volunteering within the Association”.
“ANMIL will continue to fight for safety in the workplace through the testimonies of the victims, especially towards young people who we must educate on prevention so that these tragedies never happen again – declare the two representatives of the Association – and we ask the institutions of our territory to move towards more concrete information and training of workers on these issues in order to stop this unjust and absurd massacre at work”.
