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One worker in two is employed completely “off the books”, abusive subcontracting and a situation of total disregard for accident prevention regulations. This is what the Carabinieri of the Sellia Marina Company discovered in recent days, during a blitz aimed at combating undeclared work and checking safety on construction sites in Soveria Simeri.
The operation, conducted together with the specialists of the Labor Inspectorate Unit (NIL) of Catanzaro and the inspectors of the Territorial Labor Inspectorate of Catanzaro-Crotone, led to the immediate suspension of activities and fines of over 25,000 euros.
Blitz on the construction site: illegal employees and “ghost” subcontracting
Upon checking, the police identified two workers on site: one of these turned out to be an illegal worker, caught while handling construction material.
Subsequent documentary checks revealed an even deeper system of irregularities:
Illegal subcontracting: The entrusted company had sold the works to a local company without any authorization or contract, completely bypassing the mandatory verification of the technical-professional requirements.
Lack of legal requirements: The person responsible for safety had not been identified on the construction site and both the Operational Safety Plan (POS) and the new “credit licence”, a regulatory pillar now indispensable for operating in the construction sector, were completely absent.
Trap for workers: the structural risks detected
The picture that emerged on the workplace safety front was defined as “very high risk of injury”. In fact, the inspectors found:
Total absence of fire extinguishers;
Roads inside the construction site are unsafe and chaotic;
Non-compliant temporary works;
Absolute lack of protection against falls from heights, one of the main causes of fatal accidents in the sector.
Seals, maxi-sanctions and complaints in sight
The entire area has been closed off and work will not be able to restart until the construction site is fully brought up to standard and the position of the illegal worker is completely regularized.
The owners of the two companies involved – a 34-year-old and a 44-year-old respectively – were warned to remedy the violations immediately. If they do not comply with the requirements imposed within the legal deadlines, they will trigger a report in a state of freedom to the Judicial Authority. In the meantime, the bill for administrative sanctions has already arrived on their table, which exceeds 25,000 euros.