Saturday,
October 21, 2006
Italy Uses Dual Approach:
"Rewards and Punishments" to Protect Maltreated Immigrant Laborers
The
ANNOTICO Report
While
this "Incentives and Deterrents" approach seems very Practical, it might seem to make Italy MORE attractive for
"Illegals".
However it merely awards those that report "maltreatment" with
"temporary" visas, and is one of the most advanced and humane
policies throughout Europe.
30-40%
of Immigrants are Illegals, and some have been forced
to work under "slave like conditions" by their Labor Contractors,
usually from Eastern Europe and
Access
News !
;
October 21, 2006
(EUNN)
The measure, drawn up by a cross-section of
the government, including Premier Romano Prodi,
envisions a dual approach.
Those taking advantage of immigrant labourers, either hiring them directly or on behalf of
others, will face tougher penalties, while workers who report their exploiters
will receive benefits.
But Welfare Minister Paolo Ferrero, who helped draft the measure, expressed concern
that the government was not moving swiftly enough.
"The cabinet's decision to opt for a
regular bill rather than an emergency decree is a serious political
error," he said.
"The lack of an urgent measure to
prevent migrants - who have already had their dignity violated - undergoing the
further humiliation of being deported is frankly
incomprehensible".
One of the ideas under consideration is that
foreigners living in
Those workers discovered by police before the
bill's final approval still face deportation.
Critics say this not only prevents labourers reporting abuse to police of their own accord, it
also gives their exploiters greater leverage over those under their control,
who fear expulsion.
The problem came to public attention last
month, when news weekly L'Espresso published an
article by journalist Fabrizio Gatti,
who posed as immigrant crop picker on farms around
Gatti described conditions in which workers were beaten,
threatened and forced to toil long hours with almost no breaks, food or water.
He said the workers were paid extremely low
wages, often nothing at all, and were forced to sleep outdoors or in barns with
no toilets, running water or electricity.
He also cited the case of a Bulgarian who was
almost beaten to death after complaining about conditions. Gatti
said the Bulgarian reported his case to the police but was expelled because he
was in
Police in
Several of them were found strangled while
others were found burnt, drowned or run over.
Prosecutors involved in the probes released
wiretapping evidence in which an Eastern European believed to be responsible
for recruiting crop pickers is heard threatening to kill rebellious hires.
In the wake of the report Interior Minister Giuliano Amato and national police chief Giovanni De
Gennaro set up a committee tasked with combating forms of immigrant
exploitation.
The committee includes members of the police
and Carabinieri forces and is chaired by Deputy
Alessandro Pansa, the immigration and border police
central director.
In an interview with L'Espresso
due to be published on Friday, Pansa discusses a
number of recommendations that the committee will make in its final report.
He notes there are still gaps in Italian legislation,
particularly regarding those who recruit labourers on behalf of farmers, as they are caught neither
by laws on illegal employment nor those on human trafficking.
He says the committee's work over the last
month has shown that the victims of such exploitation are usually
"foreigners from
"Approximately 60-70% of those we met
during our inspections have residency permits, while the other 30-40% are
living in Italy illegally, and they are the most vulnerable," he said.
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