A/HRC/42/44/Add.1 engagement and on the unionization of workers in recent years, wages have slightly increased and workers have become more aware of their rights and redress mechanisms. 88. Trade unions, such as the General Confederation of Labour, the Italian Confederation of Labour, the Italian Union of Labour, the Agronomic Federation and the Unione Sindicale di Base, play a pivotal role in preventing and addressing the exploitation of migrants in agriculture. The legal assistance and other support which the trade unions provide is essential, as they often constitute the only service providers for migrant workers in need. The trade unions negotiate labour conditions through collective bargaining agreements and participate in the national debate on how to end the exploitation of agricultural workers.25 89. The Network of Quality Agricultural Work creates incentives for business compliance with quality standards and lawfulness. To date, however, the network remains small owing to various structural factors. In early 2019, the National Labour Inspectorate issued guidance on how to identify victims of labour exploitation, which is a positive step. 90. Other alternative production models are based on sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture and on small-scale, local production. Such models do not depend on a low-cost labour force, leading to exploitation, and some are based on a lower-scale decentralized distribution system rather than on the large-scale retail trade. Such initiatives are also essential for preventing social tensions between local Italian communities and migrant workers and therefore deserve to be recognized by the national, provincial and municipal governmental authorities, in order to be strengthened and receive the support they need. Continuing challenges to eradicating labour exploitation in agriculture 91. With the law against the caporalato, the Government has an innovative tool to address the gangmaster system and to restore the dignity of agricultural workers, including migrants. In practice, however, the new legislation has not proven to be effective, as the caporalato continues to be widely used and severe irregularities persist, not only in the hiring system but also with regard to labour conditions, payment of wages and other basic elements. 92. The high degree of geographical mobility of migrants across Italy allows labour demand and supply to be matched in the absence of public employment centres, but at a high human cost. This suggests that the Italian economy would benefit from more predictable and efficient legal channels for labour migration. 93. Existing protection schemes for victims of trafficking and exploitation are rarely used, owing to the vulnerability of victims and their fear of reporting what has happened to them. This leads to a vicious cycle, as investigations are most effective and lead to prosecutions if victims and their testimonies can be accessed. Hence, there is an urgent need to address the reluctance of victims to cooperate with the judiciary and to reduce their fear of imprisonment or deportation. 94. Other reasons for the ineffective response to the caporalato are the limited incentives for conducting costly, complex and often dangerous transnational investigations. There is also a certain social acceptance of labour exploitation or even forced labour that may be based on racial discrimination. According to multiple interlocutors, such sentiments are fuelled by the public discourse of the Government under the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini. 95. For the effective prevention of labour exploitation of migrants, its root causes must be addressed. Migration laws and policies which lack a human rights-based approach lead to limited access to regular employment and to social exclusion, owing to limited integration measures. Many processes, such as the renewal of stay permits, are overly bureaucratic and slow, which increases the marginalization and precariousness of migrants while they wait for an outcome. 25 14 See Joint Ethical Trading Initiatives, “Due diligence in agricultural supply chains”.