“Right now we need to have workers at full capacity because this is the moment of greatest production and harvest,” Coldiretti labour manager Romano Magrini told Menabò on Radio 1.
“Using wage subsidies means stopping the machinery, stopping activities, stopping the harvest,” he added.
Coldiretti instead proposed rescheduling working hours in such a way that farm workers start earlier, at 5am, stop during the hottest hours of the day and resume work at 6pm.
“It is something that almost all employers are now doing,” said Magrini.
The government, unions and employers’ associations are in discussions about how best to protect workers from the health and safety risks involved in working during heatwaves.
Italy is just emerging from its third extreme heatwave this summer, with another one forecast next week.
ANSA
