"Who is really paying for cheap tomato sauce?"

African migrant workers stage a march to protest against their work conditions, following the death of 16 of their colleagues in two separate road accidents

African migrant workers stage a march to protest against their work conditions, following the death of 16 of their colleagues. Source: Franco Cautillo/ANSA via AP

The practice of "caporalato" is once again under scrutiny in Italy after the death of 16 immigrant farm labourers in two separate incidents.


Thousands of migrant labourers work in Italy harvesting tomatoes during summer, earning as little as one euro for picking 100kg of tomatoes. While most of them have regular papers, they are usually paid below the legal wage.

After 16 workers died in road crashes in Puglia, the widespread practice of "caporalato" has once again come under scrutiny, as the labourers denounce that recruiters drive them from farm to farm in overcrowded vans, failing to give them work contracts.

Italian journalist Stefano Liberti has also called into question the role of consumers.

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