“You have to be careful when you work.” Exploitation, health, and access to health care of foreign workers in agriculture

Journal title WELFARE E ERGONOMIA
Author/s Fabio Berti, Giulia Mascagni
Publishing Year 2024 Issue 2024/1
Language Italian Pages 14 P. 43-56 File size 238 KB
DOI 10.3280/WE2024-001004
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The paper addresses the topic of prevention and access to care paths for foreign workers employed in agriculture in Tuscany; in particular, it focuses on the im-pact of labor exploitation on the well-being of the most fragile and vulnerable migrants, who carry out dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs. After outlining the risks of injury and health conditions of foreign workers in Tuscany and after de-scribing the research methodological framework, the paper presents the main re-sults, focusing on three dimensions: the risk of depletion of health capital, also but not only due to work-related causes; health as a worker’s “private fact” and the lack of formal networks and institutions for timely and effective care; the lim-its and opportunities of occupational medicine in interventions dedicated to the most vulnerable migrants.

Keywords: Foreign workers; health, agriculture; exploitation; occupational safety and health (OSH); Tuscany.

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Fabio Berti, Giulia Mascagni, «Devi stare attento quando lavori». Sfruttamento, salute e accesso alle cure dei lavoratori stranieri in agricoltura in "WELFARE E ERGONOMIA" 1/2024, pp 43-56, DOI: 10.3280/WE2024-001004