On Wednesday, at a hotel in Milan, foreign workers employed on the construction site of a new large American consulate complex in Milan signed an agreement to receive compensation of an average of 45,000 euros (50,400 US dollars) each for labor violations they claimed to have suffered while working for an American construction company.
More than 60 workers signed an agreement on Wednesday to receive their share of a settlement amount of 31 million euros (nearly 35 million US dollars) that they reached last month with Caddell Construction, which is headquartered in Alabama, USA. The signing process began on Tuesday.
The prosecution stated that this is the largest settlement for labor exploitation in European history.
Documents seen by The Associated Press show that each worker signed a document agreeing not to defame Caddell and not to disclose the compensation received personally. Caddell states in the document that this settlement does not constitute an admission of liability. Personal compensation will be paid within 30 days after signing.
The court-appointed administrator responsible for ensuring the consulate construction site resumes lawful operations, Francesco Brigatti, stated that for the first time, the workers saw in black and white the amount of money that could change their lives when they signed the documents. The highest amount mentioned was nearly 90,000 euros (about $101,000).
Brigatti stated that these compensation payments include unpaid overtime wages, compensation for housing expenses illegally deducted from salaries, as well as substantial damages won by the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Paolo Storari, on behalf of the workers individually.
Brigatti indicates that 'just the damages alone amount to 60% to 70% of the total overtime pay.' He said this is much higher than the more common range of 10% to 30% seen in such cases.
The 43-year-old Indian bricklayer, Dilip Ram, has been working at the construction site of the Milan Consulate for over two years. He said that this money will greatly help his family of five in Bihar State, India.
After signing the agreement, Ram said, 'The situation is much better now than before... We get more rest now. This has brought about many changes. This settlement is a good thing. It is because the workers encountered difficulties that this settlement came into being.'
Within two days, a total of 115 workers signed the agreement, and the related procedures will continue next week.
The prosecution claimed that these workers earned less than $2 per hour, had their housing expenses illegally deducted from their wages, and worked up to 10 hours a day for 6 days a week without receiving overtime pay. They were also said to have been threatened and did not receive proper medical care after work-related injuries. The majority of the workers came from India, with others coming from Nigeria, Kenya, and Bangladesh.
Officials stated that workers from India claimed they had to pay 5,000 euros (5,600 US dollars) to recruiters in order to obtain these jobs. However, the settlement agreement did not directly address the abuses that occurred in India, as the prosecution was unable to conduct investigations on site.
The investigation regarding Caddell is still ongoing, and progress will only be made after the compensation payments are completed, which is expected to happen before February next year. Two managers who are under investigation for extortion and assisting illegal immigrants are still in home detention.
In the settlement agreement of Caddell, there is also an amount of approximately 11.2 million euros (12.5 million US dollars) designated for payment to Italy's social security system and work-related injury insurance. According to the agreement, these workers will also be granted permission to work in Italy, even if they are not working at the Caddell construction site.
Caddell is an important contractor for embassies and consulates of the United States around the world. In June of this year, the company stated that it was fully cooperating with Italian authorities to review whether its global subcontractors and consulting firms complied with labor laws, and working together with the authorities to protect the workers on the project.
The company stated on Wednesday: "Throughout the process, Caddell has continued to cooperate with the relevant authorities in good faith, and we remain focused on taking care of and ensuring the well-being of the personnel involved in this important project."
The U.S. State Department stated that it is investigating the relevant allegations raised by the prosecution, and that U.S. law enforcement agencies are also cooperating with Italian authorities. Last week, the State Department added that it is closely monitoring the case.
The U.S. State Department stated: "The U.S. government has zero tolerance for illegal activities."
Overall, it is estimated that nearly 480 workers will receive compensation – of whom about 300 are still working on that construction site, another 100 are in other parts of Italy, and the rest have returned to their home countries.
Labor lawyer Adelio Riva, who serves as an advisor to the prosecution office, said: "We have requested assistance from the Indian Consulate. To a large extent, we rely on word of mouth, because as they say, 'Follow the money.'"
Three construction unions that assist workers are also following up on the signing process. Feneal Uil Organizers of the construction workers' union Trifone Radogna stated that this incident is evoking a mix of emotions. The whole controversy began when the union was denied access to the consulate construction site to meet with the workers, with the other party mistakenly citing diplomatic status as a reason. He said that in Milan, which has experienced a construction boom over the past 20 years, the union has never been prohibited from informing workers about their rights at the construction sites before.
Radogna said, "We have never encountered such a large-scale system of labor exploitation."
He also said, "Here, the dignity of workers is utterly lost: they have no place to live, no food, and they are at a disadvantage even before they set off, because they are forced to pay 5,000 euros first."
