Italy’s main trade union confederation has officially joined the prosecution of a farm owner accused of murdering an Indian migrant worker who bled to death after a workplace accident. The move underscores growing concerns over labor exploitation in the country’s agricultural sector.
Antonello Lovato, 39, is on trial for the death of 31-year-old Satnam Singh, who suffered a fatal injury on June 17, 2024, in Latina, a farming region south of Rome. Prosecutors allege that Lovato abandoned Singh, who was working illegally, instead of calling for medical help. Initially charged with manslaughter, Lovato now faces a more severe charge—murder with malice after the fact—after authorities determined he was aware that his actions could result in death.
At the trial’s opening on Tuesday, Lovato claimed he panicked upon seeing Singh’s injuries. “I wasn’t myself. I didn’t want him to die,” he told the court, according to the news agency ANSA.
Outside the courthouse, dozens of union members, including Sikh agricultural workers, protested against Italy’s exploitative labor system, known as caporalato, which often forces migrants into underpaid, precarious conditions.
“I believe that what happened was apparent to everyone,” said Maurizio Landini, secretary-general of the CGIL trade union federation. “As is the logic of exploitation known as caporalato, which allows for people to be treated like merchandise, like parts of a machine that can be easily bought and sold for the lowest price. And I insist that it is this culture that needs to be changed.”
CGIL has joined the prosecution as a civil complainant, a status under Italian law that allows injured parties to participate in legal proceedings, question witnesses, and seek damages in case of conviction.
“We think it is important to seek justice, above all to put in motion everything necessary to change the way of doing business so episodes like this can never be repeated,” Landini added. “We don’t think this is an isolated case. It is a mistake to think this problem can be resolved with this trial. We are worried because the season is starting again.”
The trial will resume on May 27.
