Italy: Eight municipalities published plans to combat labour exploitation in agriculture

Eight municipalities in Italy developed in 2023 their local plans to combat labour exploitation in agriculture. This comes as a result of the first phase of the InCaS project which helps implement Italy's national Three-Year-Plan to combat labour exploitation and 'gangstering' (caporalato), or the employment of a large number of workers, often illegally, for very little money and under dire living conditions.

The Three-Year-Plan originally spanned from 2020 to 2022. In June 2022, the plan was extended for another three years.

The InCaS project was developed by the National Association of Municipalities (ANCI) and Cittalia, a foundation of ANCI, and is funded by the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. The plan is important for third-country nationals (TCNs) working in the agricultural sector, as they represent a significant proportion of the labour force - 18% according to Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) 2021 data - and are often subjected to caporalato.

The 8 municipalities that launched their local plans include Albenga, Castel Volturno, Corigliano-Rossano, Lavello, Porto Recanati, Rovigo, Saluzzo and Siracusa. They used targeted participatory processes that led to the development of the local plans, which were in turn formally adopted via council or city council resolutions.

The local multisectoral plans are meant to ensure the local-level implementation of the measures provided for in the national plan. The latter relies on the work of national and local institutions, representatives of employers in the agricultural and production sectors, and other key third-sector associations.

The development of these plans represents the first phase of the involvement of local authorities. The added value of the plans is that they have been developed in a participatory manner, listening to and incorporating the suggestions of local actors and civil society alike. The plans are available in Italian and usually cover 2023-2026.

See also an example of the work of trade unions in support of migrant agriculture workers.