07.05.2007

Italy protests accident rate

An aerial lift accident sparked further anger at May Day rallies across Italy protesting the high level of work place fatalities in the country.

Two ladies died last week in Sorrento when the jib of a truck mounted aerial lift became detached from the lifts boom, dropping the three occupants in the cage onto an 86 year old lady and her daughter in-law, killing them both. The three men were injured but survived the fall...

The accident occurred in front of a the St Antonio church where the two ladies had just attended Mass, the men in the lift were installing lights in preparation for celebrations on May 13 by local farmers to mark spring harvests in the name of Saint. Antonino.

The cause of the accident was under investigation but well informed local sources say that the platform was clearly overloaded with the men and lighting fixtures.

Italian unions have been lobbying for improved workplace safety. Some politicians want a new law, but others say more enforcement of existing codes and inspections would suffice.

The unions had already dedicated their May Day rallies across the nation to a campaign to reduce workplace deaths when the news of the tragic accident came through. Guglielmo Epifani, leader of the CGIL labor confederation, cited the latest accident in his speech to a rally in Turin.

The union says that the practice of hiring workers — Italians and immigrants — off the books to save on payroll taxes, which is prevalent in construction and agriculture, particularly in the south exasperates the problem...

Union experts also blame workers' refusal to use such basic safety measures as helmets and harnesses for many of the deaths.

According to the unions there are an average of 3.5 workplace deaths a day in Italy and more than 200,000 injuries a year that go unreported because those affected are not registered.

The Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has also been running editorials pressing for improved workplace safety in Italy.