According to police, hundreds of American farm laborers have been freed from slavery in northeastern Italy.
According to police, two other Indian immigrants lured the 33 workers to Italy with the promises of jobs and a better future.
Instead, they allegedly had to work more than 10 hours per day, seven days a week, to make a meager income that was used to pay off the alleged gangmasters ‘ payments.
The two men- who were found with approximately$ 545, 300 ( £420, 000 )- have been arrested.
It is well known that labourers in Italy are being exploited, both by immigrants and natives. Frequently without permission and in extremely hazardous conditions, thousands of people work in domains, vines, and greenhouses scattered throughout the nation.
Just last month, an Indian fruit picker died after his arm was severed in a work accident.
Following the accident, which even left the man’s feet crushed, the man was allegedly left on the side of the road.
His company is currently being investigated for murder and criminal negligence.
The 33 men rescued by police in the Province of Verona had paid €17, 000 ($ 18, 554, £14, 293 ) or 1.5m rupees each in return for seasonal work permits and jobs, according to a police statement sent to the BBC.
To raise the funds, authorities said, some pawned their home assets, while some borrowed the money from their companies.
But they were only paid €4 per minute for their 10 to 12-hour time, with that amount settling any debt owed.
Their documents were also taken out as soon as they arrived in Italy, and they were prohibited from leaving their “dilapidated” rooms.
The police said in a statement that “every day, the staff piled into automobiles covered in canvas where they hid among containers of vegetables until they reached the Verona land for work.”
The employees were “forced to live in vulnerable and humiliating conditions” and “in overall infraction of health and hygiene regulations,” according to the apartment searches that revealed the workers.
The rescued workers have their documents returned, and social service and a movement organization are assisting them in moving to safer enclosure and working conditions.
According to police, the two alleged gangmasters are currently facing felony gang gang charges in connection with abuse and slavery.
Illegal laborers in Italy are frequently subject to the” caporalato,” a gangmaster system that forces middlemen to hire illegal laborers who are then forced to work for very low pay. Also legal guardianship is frequently paid far below the legal compensation by employees.
According to a study from the Italian National Institute of Statistics, nearly a third of the agricultural labor in Italy was employed by this technique in 2018. The training also has an impact on workers in the construction and service businesses.
After a woman from Italy worked 12-hour swings picking and sorting strawberries for which she received €27 per day, she died of a heart attack. In Italy, it was outlawed in 2016 after that same lady worked a 24-hour shift.