On ground zero in Italy, voices rise against ‘Capo’ system after death of farm worker from Punjab

28/06/2024

Rome: It was a sunny day during Italy’s peak harvest season and many agricultural workers were not at work. Under any other circumstances, this would have enraged their employers. But not today. The workers were on a rare strike, to express solidarity with Satnam Singh, who died as a result of alleged gross negligence last week.

An Indian immigrant living in Italy after entering the country illegally, Satnam hailed from Punjab’s Moga district. The 31-year-old died a torturous death after his hand got stuck in a machine that covered Zucchini in plastic, leaving him with an amputated arm. What’s worse was not only did his employer Antonello Lovato leave him alone at home to die, he also reportedly confiscated Satnam’s cell phone so he couldn’t call for help.

It was only after Satnam’s partner Sony cried for help and the neighbours rushed to their aid that he was airlifted to Rome’s San Camillo hospital where he died the next day.

But Satnam’s death has brought the focus on working conditions many Indian migrants here face.

ThePrint visited Latina, the town neighbouring Satnam’s place of work, twice to attend solidarity marches and found most agricultural workers here migrated to Italy illegally only to end up working in the agrarian belt.

Their lives are ruled not just by fear of deportation, but also fear of fellow Indians who play a crucial part in the system known as ‘Caporalato’ — or ‘Capo’ system.

A rough translation is the ‘gangmaster system’ of employment.

on ground zero in italy, voices rise against ‘capo’ system after death of farm worker from punjab

Solidarity march for Satnam Singh in Latina | Nikhil Rampal | ThePrint

For most workers at the solidarity marches, it was perhaps their first time in close vicinity of the Italian police and other government agencies. One could see a different kind of fear in their eyes. They spoke to the media in broken Italian, and their leaders cautioned them repeatedly to speak for Satnam but not against their employers.

‘Capo’ system & lack of cohesion

Many who took part in the solidarity marches admitted to entering Italy illegally, or through the “Donkey” route for which they paid anywhere between Rs 15 and Rs 18 lakh.

In the case of Italy, there are two well-known routes for illegal entry: via boats (mostly from North Africa); or securing a Turkish tourist visa and then travelling to Armenia, Greece or Croatia, from where one can board ‘taxis’ operated by European Union (EU) residents.

Those from India’s Punjab usually prefer the Croatian route. Satnam and his companion, too, had opted for the same.

Though there is no official estimate as to how many Indians are living in Italy illegally, in his speech initiating the solidarity march held in Latina Tuesday, local Punjabi activist Balkar Singh said, “The governments for sure know what’s happening. When they themselves issue visas to only 1.5 lakh people, how come we have 5 lakh of them here?”

Balkar Singh addressing solidarity march for Satnam Singh | Nikhil Rampal | ThePrint

He went on to add that if Indians living illegally in Italy can work for and contribute to the country’s growth for a pittance, they should be regularised as workers.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of migrants here — ones with ‘pakke’ documents who are safe from exploitation and ones with no documents who are vulnerable to it and are known as ‘kacche’. The latter are willing to do ‘anything’ to work under an Italian agricultural entrepreneur and are therefore, most likely to face exploitation.

Under the ‘Caporalato’ system at play here, criminal intermediaries, mostly linked to the Mafia, recruit illegal migrants as workers.

Though official estimates by the Italian government peg the number at 60,000, a report by Wired suggests there are about 2.3 lakh workers in the Italian ‘Caporalato’ system.

Claims have also come to light of illegal migrants being paid €20 (or Rs 1,700) per day for 10-14 hours of back-breaking work. However, most agricultural workers ThePrint spoke to said the minimum wage is €5-6 an hour, for five to six hours of work each day.

Needless to say, working conditions are vastly different for those living in the country illegally. This is where the ‘Padrone’ (Italian word for master) comes into the picture.

They allegedly take away workers’ documents (if any) to ensure they don’t leave the fields, under-pay them, and undercut their working hours. They keep workers in line and engaged in farmwork for prolonged hours by threatening to inform police about their illegal immigrant status.

Satpal Singh, who lived in the same village as Satnam, was hesitant at first but eventually spoke about atrocities he faced when he was employed under the ‘Capo’ system.

“We weren’t allowed to drink water while on the fields, even on a hot sunny day. They wouldn’t feed us well and expect us to work 10-12 hours a day. Sometimes they would undercut the number of hours. Once I got my documents, I quit that job the very next day and found a better one,” he told ThePrint.

Satpal Singh addressing solidarity march for Satnam Singh | Nikhil Rampal | ThePrint

But Italian ‘masters’ are not the only ones immigrant workers fear.

“No doubt that Italian masters who indulge in such practices are atrocious, but what hurts us more is that our own people exploit us on their behalf,” said Satpal.

He explained that when an immigrant, usually an Indian, has worked for an Italian ‘master’ for 20-25 years, he is made an ‘intermediary’ who is supposed to update the ‘master’ every half hour about the goings-on on the farm. “They are given targets to achieve and they will do whatever it takes to fulfil the targets, even at the cost of exploiting their own brethren. These intermediaries also get extra cash for doing such jobs.”

Many workers who had come out to attend the solidarity marches were also of the opinion that the Punjabi community in Italy lacks cohesion. This, they said, explained why Satnam’s colleagues didn’t rush to his aid.

“There are flaws with the Italian Capo, but our Indian brothers are not too innocent either. On the day of the accident, when Satnam was surrounded by fellow Indians, why did they care more about their jobs than his life?” asked Bikramjit Singh, who said he entered Italy legally in 2020.

Elaborating further, he added, “Khoon te sada vi safed hoya si (we also have become cold-blooded here). Today if something happens to me, an Indian would think of the few Euros they’d lose for helping or they’d fear their masters. Look at the African immigrants here, how strong they are, they stand for each other. We do not have unity or a strong bond despite our numbers. This is what gives these masters an open hand to exploit.”

Bikramjit Singh at solidarity march for Satnam Singh | Nikhil Rampal | ThePrint

According to a report by Italian news portal Fanpage.it, Satnam’s employer Antonello Lovato often used his power to threaten workers and would fire them at the first sign of complacency. The son of business owner Renzo Lovato, Antonello is now being investigated for manslaughter and failure to help Satnam. His business has been sealed.

“It’s easy to get away with murders like this because the man was undocumented. His (Antonello’s) plan perhaps could’ve been that after dropping him (Satnam) home, if he died, he (Antonello) couldn’t be questioned because there would be no evidence to prove it happened at work and none of the workers would speak against him fearing deportation or police action,” said Satpal Singh.

Such gross negligence is a common sight, said Jas Kaur, remembering her days at a mushroom picking facility four years ago. “There was a woman who fell off the fourth floor of the building and died. They erased all the evidence and silenced all the workers. However, they were caught after almost eight months,” she told ThePrint.

Balkar Singh had a similar story to tell about a man he claimed died in Puglia. “Based on what we heard, his head was hit by some object and he was injured, rather than taking him to hospital his employer locked him inside the car so that nobody knows where he went and took him to the hospital too late, he died.”

Among those who took part in the solidarity marches, all men, there was consensus that Satnam ‘was lucky he had a companion who cried for help or else he would’ve writhed in agony’. This explains the role of women or companions in the ‘Capo’ system.

Since single Indian men who enter Italy illegally cannot go back home, they come with the hope of getting naturalised as Italian citizens before returning to India to get married and later bring their families here.

‘If they can allow us to live, why not legalise us?’

Those who showed up for the solidarity marches also said that the onus to end the ‘Capo’ system is also on the Italian government, and by extension, its ability to regularise immigrants.

Even if one enters Italy with the legal ‘seasonal work’ visa which allows for nine months of stay as a worker employed in agriculture, dairy or other low-paid sectors, they are technically not allowed to work until they receive their ‘Permesso di Soggiorno’ (Residence Permit).

The issue has also garnered the attention of political stakeholders.

For instance, the solidarity marches in Latina were led by politicians affiliated with two different parties: the FLAI CGIL (National Union for Labour and Agroindustrial Workers) and the FAI CISL, (Italian Agricultural Food and Environmental Industrial Federation).

The ones holding banners in the front were Italians, with Indians behind them, along with members of the ‘Indian Community of Lazio’.

Italian activists & politicians at solidarity march for Satnam Singh | Nikhil Rampal | ThePrint

Lazio is the state home to Rome and Latina, among other provinces. Given that the country’s larger agrarian belts are also in this state, the pressure on authorities in Lazio to issue residence permits is very high. So much so that waiting lists for fingerprint appointments are at times scheduled after expiration of visa, as claimed by those who addressed the solidarity marches. This, they said, allows for workers to be exploited.

Marching to the city centre in Latina, they chanted slogans like “soggiorno walean noo soggiorno deo” (give permits to those who need it) and “kaccha bandeyan noo pakke karo” (regularise illegal migrants).

At the same time, there were also those who had experienced a different side of the ‘Capo’ system. “It totally depends on luck. Illegals are prone to getting bad masters, but we were lucky that we encountered nice masters. My ‘Padrone’ not only gave me a fair wage, he also gave me a good house to live in and I have lived a good life here so far,” said Biccheter Singh, a dairy worker from Ladispoli who has been in Italy for the past 25 years.

Indian immigrants at solidarity march for Satnam Singh | Nikhil Rampal | ThePrint

Birra Singh, another agricultural worker, agreed with this assessment. “We work hard, then in the evening we grab a beer and roam around freely with our friends, nobody interferes in our private off-field lives,” he said.

A few agricultural and dairy workers, too, agreed. Their employers helped them get regularised as legal workers with social security, they said, though adding that Satnam’s death caused ripples and their employers are now hesitant to get any extra work out of them.

“Now after five hours of work, the master says ‘chhuti’ (time to leave) and we are good to go,” said Gurpreet Singh, another illegal immigrant from Moga, with a smile on his face.

According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), with about 1.6 lakh Indian immigrants, Italy does not figure in the list of top 10 countries with most NRIs. However, Balkar claims the number of Indians living in Italy illegally would soon surpass 5 lakh.

“The governments know what we are up to. If they can allow us to live under the Caporalato system, why can’t they legalise us and let us become tax payers and contribute more to Italy?”

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)

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