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Rabat – Yesterday, February 21, two of Italy’s largest trade union federations, CGIL and UIL, held a two-hour nationwide strike to protest recent workplace deaths, including five workers – three of whom are Moroccan – killed in a construction site collapse in Florence.
The unions say the strike, which involved demonstrations and assemblies across Italy, was a show of solidarity with victims of workplace accidents and a call for improved safety measures.
The Florence collapse occurred on February 16 at a construction site for a new Esselunga supermarket.
A massive concrete pillar crashed down, killing four workers, including two Moroccan immigrants Taoufik Haidar, 45, and Mohamed El Farhane, 24, as well as Italian national Luigi Coclite, 59, and Tunisian Mohamed Toukabri, 54, all of whom resided in the northern Italian town of Palazzolo dell’Oglio. A fifth worker went missing, but unfortunately has also been presumed dead. The still missing worker is Bouzekri Rahimi, a Moroccan at the age of 56.
The incident spurred CGIL and UIL, along with their construction and metalworking labor affiliates, to call for a nationwide strike. In a joint statement, they labeled the collapse “yet another unbearable tragedy of death at work” and invited all union categories to join mobilization efforts.
On the day of the strike, thousands marched at the disaster site in Florence as CGIL Secretary General Maurizio Landini and UIL’s Pierpaolo Bombardieri addressed the crowd.
Partial work stoppages, assemblies, leafleting, and demonstrations took place at worksites across Italy. The unions reported high participation, with construction seeing rates between 30-100% depending on the location.
The strike aimed to spotlight Italy‘s alarming workplace death toll, which averages nearly three workers per day. Union officials contend that subcontracting systems in the private sector often undermine pay, training, and safety measures.
They pressed companies to invest more in worker health while urging the government to outlaw private contract bidding focused purely on lowest cost.
The disaster remains under investigation by Florence prosecutors for manslaughter and negligent collapse. A union representative claimed up to 30 subcontracted companies were involved in the project and raised concerns over the employment terms, duties, and legal status of some victims.
In the immigrant community of Palazzolo dell’Oglio, family and friends of the deceased Moroccan workers have grieved the sudden loss. One resident opened a fundraising effort to repatriate the bodies to their home country.
The deadly collapse has renewed calls across Italy’s labor movement for stronger workplace safety measures and better regulation of private subcontracting chains to prevent loss of life.
