Italian prosecutors intensify crackdown on agricultural labor exploitation

The Public Prosecutor's Office in Perugia announced that a recent conviction of a 33‑year‑old Moroccan woman in Gualdo Tadino for employing twelve undocumented workers under exploitative conditions is not an isolated case. The woman received a sentence of one year and eight months and the workers were forced to work up to 13 hours per day for wages of €2.5‑3 per hour. In response, prosecutors have opened a multilingual assistance desk for victims and reinforced cooperation with labour inspectors and the Carabinieri.

Separately, police in Romagna arrested a caporal employer who recruited migrant workers for €5 per hour and transported them in overloaded vans. The operation highlighted systemic abuses in Italy’s agricultural sector, a shortage of labour inspections, and calls from trade unions and politicians for stricter enforcement of existing anti‑caporalato laws.