Secret slaves: Indian farm workers in Italy
Tens of thousands of Indians, mainly Sikhs from the Punjab region, live and work in Italy’s Pontine Marshes. Most live like slaves, in spite of ongoing efforts to bring attention to the problem.
agriculture
Italy: Regional ban on farm work during hottest hours after death of Malian laborer
Italy's southern Apulia region has banned farm work during the hottest hours of the day, following the death of a migrant worker. Camara Fantamadi, from Mali, collapsed and died last week after working in the open in 40-degree heat.
Italy: Seven people arrested in anti-gangmaster operation
Italian authorities have carried out a sweeping operation that led to the arrest of seven people, including farmers and an alleged Senegalese gangmaster. Migrant workers had allegedly been forced to work very long shifts for just a few euros an hour.
New report denounces labor conditions for agricultural migrant workers in Italy
A new report has denounced the labor conditions for migrant agriculture workers on the Gioia Tauro plain in southern Calabria. The report is published by the Italian organization Doctors for Human Rights (MEDU).
Cheap Asian workers flock to Portugal's farms
Farm laborers from Asia flock to the European country known for its booming agricultural exports. The workers are often brought by gangs of traffickers and are forced to endure inhumane living conditions.
Migrants: 320 more workers assigned farm contracts in Italy
Italian agricultural organization Coldiretti said the region of Apulia, in southern Italy, has been assigned 320 additional non-EU laborers for farm work in the region, which is in serious difficulty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Italy: 24 migrants receive training on Brunello wine in Montalcino
Twenty-four migrants who have applied for asylum or have international protection in Italy will participate in a training near Siena (Tuscany) to learn how to harvest grapes and olives in the land of the Brunello wine.
Italian harvest could suffer without 50,000 migrant workers
The Italian farm group Coldiretti has warned that nearly 50,000 workers could be lost during a critical phase of the harvest. The association has called for new rules on non-EU migrant workers and an extension of stay permits.
Italy: Labor union reports gangmaster violence in Tuscany farming
Labor unions CGIL and FLAI CGIL of Siena said they received reports of exploitation and violence against foreign workers in companies that offer specific services to farms in the area of Val d'Elsa, in the Italian region of Tuscany.
Refugees in France pick grapes for Château Pédesclaux
A large French wine producer has started a project in collaboration with an association of former professional rugby players. The project provides training and seasonal jobs to refugees in the vineyards of Château Pédesclaux in southwestern France.
COVID: Camp for infected migrants in Foggia area
The Italian Civil Protection Service has build a "COVID camp" in Borgo Mezzanone, Puglia, equipped with housing units to allow for the treatment of COVID-infected migrants who live in the area.
Foggia migrant tent camp to become 'Citadel of Hospitality'
Authorities in Italy's southern Puglia region are trying to fight the gangmaster system. They have rebranded the migrant tent camp in the city of Foggia, a 'Citadel of Hospitality' to try and end exploitation.