Unions are pressing the government to do more to tackle exploitation of migrant farmworkers
A court in Latina, south of Rome, sentenced farm owner Antonello Lovato to 16 years in prison on Wednesday over the death of Satnam Singh, an Indian farmworker whose case became a symbol of labour exploitation in Italy’s agricultural sector.
Known as ‘caporalato ‘, the systematic exploitation of farmworkers in the peninsula is often intertwined with organised crime networks.
Singh, then 31, lost an arm in June 2024 while operating an unguarded plastic-wrapping machine on Lovato’s farm. Instead of calling for help, Lovato loaded him into a van, with the severed arm in a fruit crate, and left him outside his home, where his partner Soni was waiting. Singh died in the hospital, arriving too late to be saved.
Judges found Lovato guilty of voluntary manslaughter with “eventual intent”, meaning he did not set out to kill Singh, but pressed ahead knowing his actions could cause his death. Prosecutors had sought a 22-year sentence, the term was reduced after mitigating circumstances were granted.
