Illegal labour practices: complaints filed in Milan, ranging from building sites to restaurants

Among the complaints lodged against exploitation in the workplace, there are some that attract more attention than others. In particular, those which, despite their apparent seriousness according to the trade unions, are progressing slowly.

A few weeks ago, media reports were already mentioning dozens of complaints awaiting a response in the catering sector. Moreover, it is nothing new that the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office is struggling due to a shortage of administrative staff: last March, the investigators themselves spoke of 9,000 cases experiencing delays, some of which had already been processed and resolved with requests to dismiss the case or notices that the investigations had been concluded. Some of these cases are particularly alarming as they exemplify a phenomenon of labour exploitation at all levels across the city of Milan.

In April 2024, the trade unions lodged complaints with the public prosecutor’s office against the catering companies La Filetteria and El Tacomaki (both part of the Sun Tzu holding company). The allegations were varied: social security contributions had not been paid regularly; no health checks had been carried out either before or during the course of the work; and there had been no training and no one designated as responsible for health and safety. The complaint states that ‘workers were certainly receiving wages disproportionate to the amount of work carried out, receiving less than the agreed rate’, furthermore, ‘they were subjected to degrading working conditions, being forced to agree to work an unspecified number of unpaid hours of overtime, at the employer’s discretion, for fear of losing their jobs’. It also refers to employment contracts terminated by voluntary resignation ‘following non-payment of wages’ as early as 2023, and to ‘unpaid leave’ compensated by other forms of irregular reimbursement. Another critical issue is ‘the wilful failure to implement safety measures against accidents’.

At least seven workers have given first-hand accounts of the abuse; all are foreign nationals, whom the employer could easily circumvent when drawing up their payslips. This is particularly jarring when one considers, as the complaint states, that the finance director had told the press at the time of a sharp increase in turnover, rising from 700,000 euros in 2019 to 12 million in 2022. Meanwhile, following the complaint, the group has gone into administration. And two years on, securing compensation is certainly more complicated.

Last February, another complaint was lodged with the police. The allegations are directed at the Fondazione Fratelli di San Francesco d’Assisi Onlus, which operates in Milan and Lombardy in the field of providing shelter for homeless people, asylum seekers and those in situations of severe marginalisation. The statements contained in the document reveal ‘a situation characterised by the systematic use of workers in a state of particular personal, economic and administrative vulnerability to carry out tasks essential to the running of the facilities (canteen, storeroom, laundry, cleaning, night-time security, access control and attendance management)’. Workers report having carried out duties from 8 am to 5 pm in return for a payment of 500–600 euros, ‘paid informally by an internal contact person’. The testimonies also mention accommodation within the facility, subject to “a strict daily routine”, and the assignment of tasks “even in the absence of a residence permit”.