A mural for Paola Clemente, who died in the fields ten years ago
His tragic end was instrumental in the passing of Law 199 of 2016 against caporalato and exploitation in agriculture
3' min read
3' min read
Ten years ago, it was 13 July 2015, Paola Clemente died of fatigue while working in the Andria countryside at grape stoning. She was only 49 years old. Under the Apulian sun, Paola worked eight hours a day without a contract and without protection, for a salary of only 27 euro. She left behind a husband and three children. And she shook consciences to such an extent that in a short time the Italian parliament passed law 199 of 2016 against caporalato and exploitation in agriculture.
On the day of this sad anniversary, many chose to bring flowers to her grave in Crispiano, in the province of Taranto, where she was born: the mayor of her town, Luca Lopomo, the mayor of Andria, Giovanna Bruno, in whose countryside Paola died, and several Flai-Cgil trade unionists, including its national secretary Silvia Guaraldi. Scholarships have also been set up in Paola Clemente's memory and will be awarded this evening to deserving students from the Elsa Morante vocational institute in Crispiano.
Tomorrow, in Andria, a mural by the street artist Jorit dedicated to Paola will be unveiled. The work, created on the outside wall of the municipal offices, depicts the worker's face next to a representation of the Fourth Estate by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo. The unveiling of the mural, which was promoted by Flai CGIL, will be attended by Paola's husband, Stefano Arcuri, the secretary general of Flai CGIL, Giovanni Mininni, the mayor of Andria and the author himself. 'We wanted to restore memory and dignity to the figure of Paola Clemente,' explains Flai secretary general Mininni, 'by transforming a public place into a space for reflection, social denunciation and redemption. Her story made it possible to pass a law that is considered a model in Europe and the world in the fight against exploitation at work, but which after ten years is still not fully applied'.
That black labour exploitation in agriculture is a problem still far from being solved in our country was demonstrated by the death of another labourer, the young Indian Satnam Singh, who just over a year ago first lost an arm and then his life in the Latina countryside. The anniversary of his death was celebrated on the 19th of June, and even that day was an opportunity to remember that there are still 200,000 illegal workers in the fields of Italy, caught in the grip of the 'caporalato' (forced labour). Immediately after the Satnam tragedy, the Meloni government promised to intensify controls in the fields: the Labour Inspectorate's 2024 data speak of a doubling of inspections, but despite this, the rate of inspected farms remains at 2%. Still too little.
Law 199 of 2016, inspired by the death of Paola Clemente, also provided for the creation in each Italian province of a territorial section of the Quality Agricultural Labour Network, i.e. a body in which institutions and social partners work together to guarantee housing for workers, transport to the workplace, and transparent intermediation for labour. But to date only 49 sections have been created, less than half. On the other hand, the NRP funds, 200 million euros in all, which were supposed to be earmarked for overcoming the ghettos and upgrading the housing settlements for immigrant labourers, are completely at a standstill.
