Sikh labourer deaths in Italy prompt global shock

A Sikh man was left to die in front of his wife on the farm where he was employed after his arm was severed off and his employer refused to act, in a case which has shocked labour rights groups and Sikhs across the world.

The death of Satnam Singh on 19th June on a Castelverde farm (in the province of Latina, in the Lazio region of Italy, approximately an hour from Rome) ignited a wave of protests across country, demanding better working conditions for migrant labourers. The incident has also prompted Sikh orgs to again look into the plight of the community in Italy, something which has been compared to slavery as far back as 2017.

In the incident itself, Satnam Singh, described by media as “an undocumented labourer” had his arm severed off whilst working on his farm. Despite his critical condition, his employer, Antonello Lovato, who was driving the tractor which was pulling a combine which tore off Singh’s arm, abandoned him on the side of a road after the incident without calling for medical help, stating Singh was “already dead”. This left Singh’s wife to try to wave down passersby to seek aid for her husband but Satnam Singh succumbed to his injuries two days later at San Camillo Hospital in Rome. Pictures of Singh’s severed arm in a fruit-picking basket went viral, seemingly symbolic of the plight of Sikhs in Italy.

Lovato was later arrested by Carabinieri police. The farmer owner was initially given charges of manslaughter. However, the charge was elevated to homicide with “malice aforethought” after forensic reports indicated that Satnam Singh would likely have survived with timely medical intervention. It was also later revealed Lovato had previous charges pending for being a “gang-master”, a term used for employees treating labourers like slaves due to the level of control they have over their subjects.

Lovato’s father, Renzo, responded to the incident by blaming Singh for not heeding warnings about the equipment, stating that his perceived negligence “will cost everyone dearly”, further showing the callousness within Italian society to migrant labourers. Satnam Singh went to Italy three years ago with his family and was working for €5 an hour,
without a legal contract.

The death of Satnam Singh, 31, has spotlighted the harsh realities of the “caporalato” system, where underpaid migrant labourers are used extensively and exploited in Italy’s agriculture industry. Italian President Sergio Mattarella called out the “cruel” exploitation of workers and “inhuman” conditions in which seasonal farmhands often work in Italy. The leader of the centre-left Italian Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, participated in a rally with members of the Italian Indian community.

However, the issue also has ties back into India’s exploitative VISA agencies, which were this year the focus of mass protests led by community activist Bhaana Sidhu. These agencies offer potential emigrants “opportunities” to “work” in Italy. People pay $10,000+ upwards (often the life savings of some Punjabis) to take the opportunity, only to find themselves stuck on a farm being exploited by racist landowners.

The reaction to Satnam Singh’s death triggered a wave of action against those exploiting workers from Punjab and wider India.

Laura Hardeep Kaur, the General Secretary of an Italian Trade Union, commented on the case to media, saying; “He was left on the road like a bag of rags, like a sack of rubbish … despite his wife begging [the employer] to take him to hospital. Here we are not only faced with a serious workplace accident, which in itself is already alarming, we are faced with barbaric exploitation. Enough now…Foreign labourers continue to be invisible, at the mercy of ferocious bosses, often Italian”.

The death of Satnam Singh also helped expose another farmyard death of a Sikh labourer. Rajwinder Singh Sidhu, 38, died in Taranto (also spelt Tarantino) farming fields in the Laterza countryside (South-East Italy) on 26th May. His employer, Giovanni Giannico, said he had fainted and lost consciousness but medics saw his condition and did not believe it, instead alerting authorities. Autopsy results are still pending at the time of this article’s release but local authorities have stated they view this case as another “gang-master” related death, part of Italy’s ongoing exploitation of migrant labourers, including thousands of Sikhs.

Italy is believed to have the second-largest Sikh community in Europe, after the United Kingdom. The Italian Sikh community is growing rapidly with most coming straight from Punjab for labour jobs, usually on farms. They are attracted to Italy because the land is similar to the land they cultivate in Punjab, opening up possibilities for successful work, as seen with the impact on Italy’s cheese market.

However, NGOs have recently described the conditions of foreign agricultural labourers in Italy as a “modern form of slavery”. The tragic story of Satnam Singh is only one of countless cases where undocumented workers have faced racism and inhumane conditions working on Italian farms and vineyards.

The the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions responded to the situation too, suggesting authorities need further enforcement of Social Conditionality in the Common Agricultural Policy to tackle such issues.

Speaking on the circumstances of Sikh labourers in Italy, Sikh Press Association Senior Press Officer Jasveer Singh said:

“The recent tragic deaths will prompt a global response from the Kaum (Sikh nation) in response to the plight of Sikhs in Italy. There are basic workers’ rights campaigns run by groups like the Naujawan Support Network of Canada and Jakara Labour Rights Initiative in the USA which are leading such movements.

“The horrifying reality of exploitation in Italy can not be denied. However, there should also be no doubt that such exploitation is allowed because of bigotry which others those of the Sikh identity in Western nations, dehumanising Sikhs to the point some have been left to die on the ground like animals. This will be added to a list of global issues the Kaum is looking to address, for the betterment of Sikhs and the whole of mankind.“

The battle of better labour rights in Italy continues.