A/HRC/43/44/Add.5 46. According to various sources, the adoption in 2018 of the Decree on security and immigration, known as the “Salvini decree”, 17 has led to an increase in the number of undocumented migrant workers, due to the elimination of humanitarian protection and the exclusion of asylum seekers from the reception system, which accelerates their illegalization. There are now an estimated 680,000 undocumented migrants, twice as many as only five years ago.18 In Apulia and Sicily, migrant labour is a flourishing business. According to labour unions, 300,000 irregular workers continue to generate billions of euros a year in profit in the country’s agricultural sector.19 47. According to testimonies, a migrant worker can receive between 2 and 3 euros per hour, while the country’s minimum wage for agricultural workers is 7 euros; some migrant workers are paid only for piecework, which is illegal in Italy. Some are exposed to pesticides and dangerous chemicals, while others face contract infringement or have no contract at all, as well as difficult working and living conditions. Some migrant workers stated that, without the support of organizations such as Caritas, they would not be able to survive. 48. Although several laws and trade union contracts have been formulated to regulate the situation of agricultural workers, wages continue to be low (from 5 euros per hour to 50 euros per day for an average workday of 6.5 hours). Furthermore, occupational health and safety for agricultural workers seems to be severely overlooked. According to testimonies, the maximum number of hours of work per day is often not respected, minimum wage is frequently not paid, even if agreed before the start of the harvest season, and living and working conditions are poor. This is particularly severe for migrant workers, especially if undocumented and without a valid permit, leaving them unable to report any abuse. 49. During harvest season, large groups of workers move from one part of the country to another to fill the market demand for labour. In particular, migrant workers, who are never provided with housing by their employers, need to arrange temporary settlements, which are characterized by the absence of electricity, access to water and sanitation, safety and basic services. These settlements occupy large portions of land, frequently remain standing for months (if not years) and continue to exist long after the harvest season is over. The products collected during the harvest season are sold in national, European and international markets. As reported by agricultural workers, it is possible that African families who provided funds to family members to allow them to travel to Italy to look for better job opportunities and living conditions are the same purchasing the expensive Italian agricultural products sold abroad and harvested by these exploited migrant workers.20 50. According to testimonies, as in many other countries, women migrant workers are abused and required by “masters” to perform sexual acts to be able to improve their working and living conditions, such as better salaries and food. 51. In Italy, Bulgarian and Romanian women have been identified as the main groups of agricultural workers, whose working, living and health conditions are particularly worrisome. According to official data, about 55,000 Bulgarians work in Italy, of whom 63 per cent are women, and 1,168,000 Romanians work in Italy, of whom over 57 per cent are women, and 10 per cent work in agriculture. They can work for up to 12 to 15 hours a day, and they live in isolated and neglected buildings, with no access to welfare or public services. 52. In 2017, several arrests were made of farm owners in the south, when the appalling living conditions of Romanian women workers were discovered and cases of sexual abuse 17 18 19 20 8 Decree No. 113/2018 of 4 October, which was enacted, with amendments, as Law No. 132/2018 on 1 December 2018. See www.infomigrants.net/en/post/20642/680-000-irregular-migrants-in-italy-after-security-decreestudy-finds and www.infomigrants.net/en/post/22340/undocumented-migrants-in-italy-double-aftersecurity-decree-amnesty. Islamic Human Rights Commission, “Universal periodic review (UPR) NGO alternative report”, pp. 4–5. A. Jinkang, “Contemporary slavery: the exploitation of migrants in Italian agriculture”, PhD dissertation, University of Palermo, 2020. Available at http://roderic.uv.es/bitstream/handle/ 10550/75415/PHD%20THESIS%20ALAGIE%20JINKANG%2018-062020.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.