Four entrepreneurs in Paternò reported for caporalism and undeclared work

Four entrepreneurs have been reported by the carabinieri during checks at two companies that deal with the cultivation, harvesting, and sale of citrus products in Paternò (Catania). They must answer, for various reasons, for violations related to the obligations of the employer and the manager, employee training, for employing workers off the books, and for exploiting labor.

In one company, the military found that two partners and a collaborator of an agricultural company, aged 69, 39, and 43, respectively, all relatives, were exploiting the work of a foreigner, irregular in Italy, underpaying him and making him work full days in the fields. Two of the workers were off the books and those who were regularly employed had not received proper training in workplace safety and had not even undergone mandatory health surveillance. The three men were therefore reported to the judicial authority and a maximum fine of over 13,600 euros was imposed on them, with the subsequent recovery of 1,000 euros in contributions to INPS and INAIL.

In the activity of a 47-year-old agricultural entrepreneur, the carabinieri found that the workers had not undergone the required health surveillance and for this reason, the entrepreneur was both reported and fined 1,450 euros.

Only in 2024, the campaign against the exploitation of workers and the phenomenon of gangmastering, ordered by the Catania authorities – which will continue throughout the entire Etna province – has already led to important operational results. In the more than 30 companies checked so far, the presence of over 55 irregular workers and 45 off-the-books workers has been found. In addition, two arrests were made in execution of a pre-trial detention order issued by the investigating judge, and three people were reported for gangmastering and six for violations of workplace safety regulations.