The CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) in Naples has raised the alarm about a widespread fraud scheme. Hundreds of workers, arriving legally from Bangladesh, find themselves without residence permits: their employers disappear. "Forced to work illegally, they fuel the underground economy."
Naples – An entry ticket to Italy that becomes a gateway to illegal immigration. This is the "rampant" scam operating under the Immigration Flows Decree, denounced this morning by the CGIL (Naples Confederation of Labour) in a dossier that exposes a well-established and cruel system.
The scam affects hundreds of foreign workers, lured by the promise of a regular contract, who, once they arrive in Italy, discover the deception: the company that called them doesn't exist or is untraceable.
The nightmare of 400 Bangladeshis
The most striking case, illustrated by Elisa Laudiero, secretary of the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) in Naples and Campania, concerns a delegation of approximately 400 workers from Bangladesh. Having arrived between 2023 and today with seemingly regular documentation related to the Immigration Flow Decree, they have never been able to complete their regularization.
"We met with this delegation last September 11th," Laudiero explained. "The problem is dramatically simple: the employer is unreachable. They've vanished."
The chain of illegality
The consequence is a legal and human paradox.
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Without documents, workers are forced to accept undeclared jobs, seek dilapidated housing on the black market, and, in effect, "unwittingly fuel a shadow economy." This extremely high-risk situation affects not only Naples, but various areas of the country.
Data collected by the union between 2022 and 2024 shows 398 problematic cases handled: 197 in Naples and its province alone, 68 in the Salerno area, 43 in the Caserta area, and others scattered throughout Campania and the rest of Italy, often handled by consultants and CAFs in the Naples area. The sectors most affected are those known for exploitation: agriculture, catering, textiles, and construction.
Ricci (CGIL): "The Flow Decree doesn't work."
For Nicola Ricci, general secretary of the CGIL (Naples and Campania) union, the problem is systemic. "The non-EU worker is doubly defrauded: he can't find a fake employer, and he's not even entitled to a residence permit."
The union's attack is direct: "As a union, we have always maintained that the Flow Decree doesn't work." Ricci highlights the criticality of the Bossi-Fini law and describes a "supply chain currently in the hands of criminals, made up of false expectations, fake authorizations, and shell companies."
The CGIL's appeal comes not coincidentally, "in the weeks when the government is preparing to approve the Budget Law." The request is clear: allocate resources to help these people emerge from illegal activity and support the judiciary's efforts to stop this trafficking.
Comments (1)
This is a very serious problem that affects many workers who came here with hope. It's strange that the authorities are doing nothing to stop these scams and help people obtain the necessary documents to work legally.