The tragic and devastating demise of 31-year-old Indian farm laborer Satnam Singh has sparked a wave of demonstrations and calls for justice in Italy. Singh sadly passed away the previous week in Lazio, close to Rome, after farm equipment severed his arm. According to reports, his employer allegedly failed to provide him with emergency medical treatment, which infuriated Indian migrant laborers who complained about their “slavery-like” working conditions. This episode has reverberated beyond Italy’s borders and drawn international outrage, prompting urgent calls for an end to such exploitation and punishment for those guilty.
Thousands of Indian workers assembled in Latina, Italy, calling for Singh’s rights to justice and a stop to the mistreatment of undocumented immigrants working in the agricultural sector. Prominent members of the Indian community residing in Lazio, like Gurmukh Singh, head of the Indian community in Lazio, have vehemently expressed their complaints and demanded prompt changes to safeguard susceptible laborers.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs Secretary, Muktesh Pardeshi conveyed India’s deepest concerns to Luigi Vignali, Director General for Italian Citizens Abroad and Migration Policies, over the death of Satnam Singh and called for prompt action against those responsible. Meanwhile, Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, called the incident “inhumane” and promised tough punishment for anyone involved. The son of the farm owner is being investigated for possible homicide and refusal to assist a person in danger charges. Singh was allegedly abandoned by the farmer after the accident.
BYTE: video 1: 1.00 to 1.39 Giorgia Meloni, Italian PM
Condemning the incident, Gurmukh Singh said that the exploitation of migrant workers is happening every day, which must end now. Meanwhile, Children held up colorful signs reading “Justice for Satnam Singh” as the procession took place throughout Latina, a city in a rural area south of Rome that is home to tens of thousands of Indian migrant workers.
According to the Osservatorio Placido Rizzotto, which analyses working conditions in the agriculture industry, the workers get paid an average of 20 euros ($21) a day for up to 14 hours of labor. In contrast, female workers fare particularly badly, earning even less than their male counterparts and in some cases suffering sexual exploitation.
Such deplorable scenarios of migrant workers in Italy have prompted PM Meloni to work on reducing the number of undocumented migrants to Italy while increasing pathways for legal migration for non-EU workers to tackle labor shortages.
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