Workplace safety remained in the spotlight on Wednesday after another worker was killed on the job in Tuscany - the fifth such death in the last two days.
The latest victim was a 31-year-old man who was crushed to death by a bulldozer while working on drain repairs in the centre of the Tuscan town of Grosseto.
Four deaths were reported on Tuesday, including those of a 44-year-old Romanian building site worker in Rome who died after being crushed by several blocks of cements and a 26-year-old Italian builder who was electrocuted on a construction site in the central region of Abruzzo.
Last week, port workers in Genoa staged a two-day protest strike after a fellow worker, a 34-year-old father of two, was fatally crushed by a two-tonne ball of cellulose.
President Giorgio Napolitano immediately stepped in, calling on parliament to speed up passage of tough new workplace health and safety legislation.
The head of state has championed the issue, inviting the families of several workplace victims to this year's May 1 Labour Day ceremony at the president's palace in order to heighten public awareness of the problem.
Premier Romano Prodi has also responded to the string of deaths, saying the issue is a priority for his centre-left government, which approved a draft law to present to parliament last Friday.
He has sent condolence letters to the families of the victims, describing them as "martyrs" who had "sacrificed their lives for us all".
Labour Minister Cesare Damiano called on MPs to approve the government's bill as soon as possible.
In a country where work-related accidents cause an average three deaths per day, the minister said that no time could be lost.
The powerful industrial employers' federation Confindustria also called for action this week.
Federation chief Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said on Tuesday that "words without action are unacceptable... Courage is required and everyone must do their bit".
House Speaker and former union chief Fausto Bertinotti called on Wednesday for a national demo, saying that "the daily deaths of three to four workers represents a situation that has been going on for years but it is only the tip of the iceberg... New laws are required and trade unions need to have more say on safety issues".
CRACKDOWN ON SUBCONTRACTING CHAIN.
Health Minister Livia Turco stressed last week that the government's bill would include measures to combat illegal labour, protect immigrant workers and tighten control of the subcontracting chain.
Lower-tier subcontractors, particularly in the construction field, frequently seek to contain costs by hiring illegal labourers and skimping on safety regulations.
Turco said that 85% of job fatalities occurred in the subcontracting sector.
"The law will hold companies who resort to subcontractors more responsible, making them jointly liable in the case of injuries and deaths of workers hired by the subcontractor," the minister explained.
According to official figures, 1,280 workers were killed in job-related incidents in 2005 while 939,566 workers were injured - a drop of 2.8% compared to 2004.
In agriculture, 4.3% fewer incidents were reported in 2005 compared to 2004, and 5% fewer in the construction industry.
Injuries among non-EU workers in Italy fell 2.8% in 2005 over the previous year, official figures say.
According to Inail, a state agency which handles compulsory insurance coverage for workers, the injury rate per 100,000 workers in Italy was 3.237 in 2005 - lower than both the euro zone average of 3.789 and the European Union average of 3.334 (EU 15).
But Inail sounded the alarm over statistics relating to construction industry deaths and accidents in 2006.
It highlighted a 35% increase in fatalities compared to 2005 and a 16% rise in the number of deaths among non-Italian workers - 42 against 36 in 2005.
Anmil, an association representing injured workers, protests that the official figures are not representative, arguing that in Italy there is a tendency to report only the most serious accidents.
"In the other cases, the worker is usually simply marked down as sick, and that's not counting what goes on in the underground economy," Anmil said.
Inail estimates that at least 200,000 accidents suffered by people working off the books fail to be reported every year.
Trade unions have repeatedly expressed concern that workplace injuries and even deaths among illegal non-European Union workers, particularly in the construction and agricultural industry, often do not find their way into the official statistics.
They also accuse the state of not investing enough in the workplace inspection system, saying that the number of inspectors falls far short of the number required and that those that do exist do not have the resources to do their job properly.
