Dying at work at the time of the Jubilee
Security is not a cost but an investment in life: not an obligation that slows down, but a pact that builds trust
In Rome, in the heart of the city celebrating the Jubilee, a man died at work. His name was Octay Stroici, he was 66 years old. He was working on the restoration of the Torre dei Conti, a stone's throw from the Imperial Forum. A medieval tower spanning the centuries, a symbol of the history of this city and the country. Part of the structure collapsed, the worker was trapped under the rubble for eleven hours. Transported to hospital, he did not make it.
At a time when Rome is dressed in welcome, pilgrimages, mercy, the death of a worker in the midst of his duty forces us to stop. Because when a man dies while working, it is never a fatality. It is a wound that opens in the collective conscience. It is a bell that tolls. And that cannot ring in vain.
In Italy, more than 590,000 accidents at work were reported to INAIL in 2023, a decrease of 16.1 % compared to 2022. Of these, around 1,147 resulted in fatalities, marking a decrease of 9.5 % compared to the previous year. However, the actual number of ascertained cases is lower - e.g. 550 'ascertained' fatalities during 2023 according to another INAIL figure, more than half of which occurred on or off the job.
Despite the slight improvement, a thousand families each year lose a loved one while working: a threshold that questions the production system, the culture of prevention and the value we place on the dignity of work.
More than a thousand families waited for someone who never came home. And 2024 shows no significant decrease: construction sites, fields, warehouses, roads continue to be the places where workers' bodies and lives are most exposed.
