About 200 seasonal workers in the southern Italian region of Basilicata are currently staying in makeshift shelters in the fields, according to a local union, which is calling for more support from the cities nearby.
The trade union FLAI CGIL has pointed out a number of issues found at a reception center for migrant agricultural workers in southern Italy. Among the problems are a lack of guards, lodgings that are not divided properly, and issues with worker transportation.
Without an extension of stay permits for foreign seasonal workers, the harvest season is at risk, the organization of Italian agricultural producers, Coldiretti, has warned.
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.
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.
The Italian farm association Coldiretti has started vaccinating migrant farm workers against COVID-19 in Italy's southern city of Foggia.
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.
The approaching harvest season brings a flow of migrants to Spain. The government fears that another coronavirus outbreak will follow if the workers are not vaccinated immediately.
Police in northeastern Italy have arrested two people accused of exploiting dozens of Pakistani migrant farmworkers. The laborers were reportedly underpaid, had to work without any coronavirus protections, and forced to pay for rooms in extremely run-down buildings.
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.
Authorities in the southern Italian city of Foggia have activated a security patrol service at the so-called 'Gran Ghetto' in Torre Antonacci, a makeshift migrant camp, after three migrants were shot in the night between April 25 and 25 and following the attempted theft of gasoline.
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.