Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
“Law 199 of 29 October 2016 against gangmastering is a civilisational achievement won thanks to union mobilisation, which in Sicily – and not by chance in Sicily – has been widespread and determined. Ten years on, those rules deserve to be fully effective and to meet their goal: uprooting the deep-seated scourge of exploitation. The ‘mafia of the fields’, which feeds on omertà, desperation, ghost workers and criminal interests, is not yet defeated. We need checks, prevention, alongside investment by businesses and political institutions in a housing and transport plan that guarantees dignity and respect for women and men workers, and burns the ground from under gangmasters and their bosses.”
On the tenth anniversary of Law 199, the special commissioner of Uil Sicily, Emanuele Ronzoni, and the general secretary of Uila Sicily, Enzo Savarino, “pay homage to the many, too many, victims of the new slave drivers” and stress the importance of Law 199 together with its untapped potential. They add: “We are grateful to the judiciary and law enforcement for the investigations and operations carried out so far, but alongside them the response from civil society must grow. It is now necessary to create the conditions to guarantee dignified, free and safe employment for every farm labourer, first and foremost for those migrants who are an indispensable resource for agriculture in Sicily and in the country, yet are all too often held hostage by labour recruiters.”
“Today we want to reaffirm – Ronzoni and Savarino conclude – the need to strengthen the regional labour inspectorates, which are desperately short-staffed, and we appeal to consumers to bring only certified, legal-supply-chain products to their tables. Meanwhile, we at Uil and Uila are stepping up our commitment to constructive collaboration with law-abiding businesses, above all in the agricultural sector’s joint bodies. This too is how we intend to contribute to this life-and-death struggle, which is certainly not over – quite the opposite! – as of 29 October ten years ago.”
