Despite an horrific tally of 14 workplace deaths in three days, insurance agency INAIL said workplace accident fatalities actually fell in the first eight months of 2021.
On Thursday, a farmer in Abruzzo was crushed to death when his tractor overturned. His was the 14th death in three days.
A sad accumulation of workplace deaths
Gabriele Grosso, 72, died instantly at Mosciano Sant’Angelo near Teramo. Earlier, another farmer working his hazelnut plot at Roddi near Cuneo met the same fate.
Also on Thursday, a 56-year-old construction worker died in a 10-metre fall from scaffolding on the roof of a building near Reggio Emilia. The accident happened in the hamlet of Borzano, part of the town of Albinea.
Wednesday saw a man crushed to death by a truck near Verona. The man died instantly at Cologna Veneta, officials said. Wednesday also saw five men killed on the job in Italy, after six on Tuesday.
Draghi announces stiffer penalties
Job death data on Thursday belied the recent spate of workplace-accident deaths that Premier Mario Draghi has dubbed a massacre.
The glut of deaths spurred Draghi to announce immediate and stiffer penalties for those flouting work safety standards. However, workplace accident insurance agency INAIL said workplace accident fatalities actually fell in the first eight months of the year. There was a decrease of 6.2% to 772 fatalities.
Overall, reports of all accidents on the job rose 8.5% to 349,449 from January to August compared to the same period last year, INAIL said.
