Carrara: marble district worker dies on a building site: 8-hour strike
The victim, who was crushed by a slab, was 44 years old. The trade unions: ‘We need urgent discussions about the sector’
A 44-year-old workerlost his life this morning in a workplace accident which took place at a company in the marble industry in Carrara (Massa Carrara). The alarm was raised at 8.18 am following a accident at the company Santucci, on Via Provinciale Avenza Massa. According to the information gathered, the man was reportedly crushed by several slabs of marble whilst carrying out routine work. Unfortunately, by the time the emergency services arrived, there was nothing that could be done for the worker: the medical staff could only confirm his death.
An emergency medical vehicle from Carrara, a nursing vehicle and an ambulance from Carrara’s Public Assistance service attended the scene, along with the police. Also present were health and safety officers from the North-West Tuscany Local Health Authority, who have begun investigations to reconstruct the exact sequence of events leading to the accident and to verify compliance with safety regulations. The investigation will clarify the circumstances that led to the fatal accident.
Feneal Uil, Filca Cisl and Fillea Cgil in Lucca and Massa Carrara have responded by calling for an eight-hour strike across the entire Apuan-Versilian marble district tomorrow, 6 August. “Unfortunately, the rise in serious accidents in this sector shows no sign of stopping, and this morning a worker lost his life,” reads the joint statement issued by the trade unions. “We cannot carry on like this. It is right for us all to stop and reflect. It is impossible to find the strength to carry on working as if nothing had happened.” In recent years, following a period in which “things perhaps seemed to be changing”, the situation regarding accidents, according to the unions, has worsened once again.
“We’re all certainly getting something wrong,” they say, highlighting a number of critical issues relating to the organisation of work. According to the trade unions, situations are becoming increasingly common in which ‘too many workers are doing several things at once without paying sufficient attention’ and where production rates are ‘often too high’, particularly given the new climatic conditions to which staff are exposed. The unions are therefore calling for urgent talks between all parties involved: employers, workers, trade union representatives, public authorities and the health authority. “We need to meet face to face as a matter of urgency,” they conclude, “to find solutions.”
The mayor of Carrara Serena Arrighi expresses her condolences and sympathy to the family of the worker who died at work. “This is shocking news,” she comments, “and it has deeply affected our city. We are faced with a tragedy that affects a family, colleagues and the entire working community in our area. Workplace safety,” Mayor Arrighi emphasised, “is an issue on which we must never let our guard down. There is a working group specifically dedicated to the stone industry, and in September we had already planned to launch initiatives which, at this point, are more important than ever’, involving all stakeholders, because ‘it is not right not to return home from work’.
