Working in the fields every day. For two years. Without days off or vacation. Without a contract. Monitored by electronic eyes and denied the right to leave. Crammed into a tiny apartment with no toilet and lots of mold on the walls.
Thus, two non-EU workers, without a residence permit, were exploited by a farmer from the Oristano area who was reported and fined .
The checks were carried out by the Carabinieri Labor Inspectorate of Oristano, together with colleagues from the Provincial Command. The officers identified two non-EU workers without residence permits who had been employed by the company for two years without a contract.
During the investigations, the conditions of exploitation provided for by Article 603 bis of the Criminal Code emerged: they had never enjoyed a day of rest or holidays in two years ; serious violations of health and safety; a degrading housing situation, they lived in a small apartment without toilets and with serious hygiene and sanitation deficiencies, an unhealthy environment full of mould stains on the walls .
The employer took advantage of the two men's poverty, and they had to accept these conditions to support their families in their hometowns, having no other employment options given their language barriers and lack of qualifications. Furthermore, the two men were unable to travel: neither had a driver's license, and they couldn't even use public transportation, which didn't operate in the area. They were practically enslaved, even monitored by an unauthorized video surveillance system .
In addition to the complaint, the company owner was also subject to penalties: criminal penalties totaling over 2,600 euros and administrative penalties totaling over 37,800 euros .
(Unioneonline)
