During the first eleven months of 2024, there has been a worrying increase in workplace fatalities in Italy, with one thousand confirmed deaths. This data refers exclusively to cases regularly reported to Inail, excluding other tragedies such as the one in Calenzano, which occurred at the beginning of December. Recent reports indicate that two more workers died last Friday: one on a motorway construction site along the A14 and the other in a company in the Caserta area, where ten days earlier another victim had already been recorded.
Bruno Giordano, a magistrate at the Court of Cassation and former director of the National Labor Inspectorate, commented on the situation, stating: “With employment, homicides and injuries at work increase. There is no reason to boast, rather, there is reason to be ashamed. You can tell the tree by its fruits. The numbers demonstrate the inefficiency and uselessness of the measures of the last two years, if not the institutional absence”. Giordano also underlined that the increase in deaths in the construction sector highlights “the uselessness of the much vaunted points-based driving license”, adding that: “If the increase hits women more (+1,0%), non-EU workers (+4,8%), and workers between 60 and 74 years of age (+5,2%), it means that the economy is growing strong on the backs of the weakest”.
Alarming statistics
Analyzing the data, we note a decrease in cases of fatal accidents in direct work, going from 745 to 731, while those in the home-work journey increase, from 223 to 269. The incidence of deaths on the total number of employed people according to Istat marks an increase of 2%. Deaths in the industry and services sectors are increasing especially, going from 823 to 852. Among the sectors most affected are construction with 147 cases (compared to 139 in 2023), and transport and warehousing with 99 cases (97 in 2023).
In correspondence with the regions, an increase in reports was recorded in the North-West (from 254 to 268), in the Centre (from 176 to 193) and in the Islands (from 84 to 104), while decreases were recorded in the South (from 235 to 227) and in the North-East (from 219 to 208).
Increase in injuries
Eleven multiple accidents were recorded up to November 2024, showing an increase in reports for both male and female workers. The analysis showed increases across age groups, particularly among those over 59, from 238 to 259 cases. In the first eleven months of the year, 543.039 injuries of all severity were reported, an increase of 0,1% compared to the same period in 2023.
Institutional reactions
The confederal secretary of Uil, Ivana Veronese, defined the data as “frightening” and asked for the establishment of a permanent table to address the problem, stating: “We do not want to count any more deaths: the government must break free from its inertia and implement concrete actions so that these tragedies do not happen again”.
Similarly, Valentina Barzotti of the M5S highlighted that the data demonstrate a lack of adequate strategies, with particular concerns about deaths in itinere, calling for an extraordinary national accident prevention plan.
Article published on 11 January 2025 - 11:40
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It is worrying to see how the number of deaths at work is increasing in Italy, especially for the weakest categories. The data clearly show a critical situation that deserves attention and immediate action.