The story “Now Valerio would be here. The referendum can increase security in subcontracting”

ROME - It was three o'clock on a very hot afternoon, June 21 of last year, when Valerio fell from the roof of a warehouse from a height of 8-10 meters and died instantly. "My cousin worked on a contract without training and without protection. If he had had a helmet and a harness, he would be here with me today." These are his cousins, a nurse, Emanuele Caratelli, from Rome, 42 years old.

How does Valerio's story fit into that of the CGIL referendums?

"Come in because with the current laws if someone gets hurt or dies, the blame falls on the contracting or subcontracting companies that cut on safety. And often they are not even able to compensate for the damage . This state of affairs must end. The life of a boy or girl who works cannot end just because there is someone who has not done their duty".

What happened to Valerio?

"That very hot afternoon he was with his colleague in Lanuvio, near Rome. They had to redo the electrical system of a warehouse. But they had only been trained for small domestic jobs. At a certain point Valerio fell. We don't know if a roof slab gave way: some were made of cement, others of eternit. Either because he lost his balance or he felt ill from the heat. Or all of these things together. The fact is that he wasn't wearing safety gear."

Did you get justice?

"Only silence. We know that the owner of the company is under investigation. We know the name of the company that managed the warehouse. Above all, we know that Valerio was 29 years old: he would have turned 30 the following month. We know that he did not return home to his partner. He never saw his mother and brother again. You cannot die like this, balancing on a roof."

Can the fourth referendum, which extends the joint liability of the client in contracts, change things?

”It can help fight the plague of workplace deaths. Today, giving work out to a contractor or subcontractor means limiting the risk for Italian companies. I’ll give you the work, then you take care of it. This is how we work today in Italy. It also happened in the tragedy at the Suviana power plant. Enel immediately rushed to say: “They weren’t our workers.”

It depends on the rules...

"But this is not right. We must ensure that everyone is responsible. Only in this way can we stop the incivility of having three deaths at work per day. Workers who leave home and do not return. A plague that must end. Valerio's entire family and I ask people to go and vote. And vote yes. Above all, yes to the fourth question, the one on safety."

Prime Minister Meloni said she will go to the polls, but she will not collect the ballot. What do you think?

"A mockery of the citizens and the many relatives of victims at work. At least the president of the Senate is more coherent, since he will not show up at the polls. And instead, voting in these referendums is an act of dignity and courage not only towards the precarious, but also towards the many who lose their lives working in a vulgar way. Valerio had attended professional school. He had learned the trade of electrician. But no one had taught him how to stand ten meters above the ground on a warehouse. Let's think about it on June 8-9".