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Rabat – The Venice Labor Protection Group and the Labor Inspectorate of Vicenza of the Italian Gendarmerie concluded an operation dubbed ‘Polvere di Stelle’ (Stardust) on February 7 with the arrest of a 27-year-old Moroccan national accused of being involved in the illegal hiring and mistreatment of Moroccan workers in Italy.
The authorities arrested him upon arrival from Morocco at the international airport of Orio al Serio. Italian authorities accuse him, along with two other Moroccans, one Italian, and one Albanian of “criminal association aimed at the exploitation of labor committed against dozens of Moroccan citizens,” Italian media reported.
The suspects operated in three farms in Padua province, two farms in Vicenza province, and thirty farms in Verona province, the local media added.
The network had recruited Moroccan workers with the Albanian national operating as an intermediary while the Italian national worked as a professional consultant. In November 2020, the authorities issued the first arrest warrant for the 27-year-old detainee now under house arrest, the Italian media stated.
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Authorities learned about the case in April and May of 2019 when the CGIL Veneto union released detailed reports on their criminal activities. The local authorities concluded that the Moroccan workers were paid less than half of expected salaries and lived in dilapidated housing.
Additionally, the quoted sources, the network’s activities harmed other agricultural operators in the region since they lowered the prices of agricultural products.
The Italian Federation of Agro-Industry Workers commented on the affair, stating that “the fight against exploitation and illegal hiring is an absolute priority. The involvement of white-collar workers in facilitating the activities of corporals is very serious. The wealthy northeast is discovering that no productive sector is immune to this hateful phenomenon.”
The union stressed that it “is and will always be alongside all exploited workers.”
Italy and Spain are common destinations for Moroccan seasonal workers wishing to make some extra cash in Europe. Many of them work illegally which puts them in a vulnerable situation.
