The year 2023 marked a disturbing trend on construction sites, with irregularities becoming commonplace. These irregularities affected an alarming two-thirds of all inspected sites. Labor inspectors in the construction sector recorded a staggering irregularity level of 76.48%. This figure has seen a continuous upward trend, with the average rate of irregularity climbing beyond 85.2% for companies involved in work associated with the 110% superbonus. These alarming statistics came under the spotlight following a tragic incident in Florence last week at a hypermarket construction site. The collapse of a beam at the site caused the deaths of five workers, prompting a comprehensive review of safety standards and inspection activity by the Minister of Labor, Marina Calderone.
In her report to the Council of Ministers, Calderone underscored the critical issues identified, particularly within construction companies. She also made it clear that judicial police are still in the process of investigating the incident in Florence. The minister emphasized that the number of checks and controls are increasing. Of the 92,658 site access points, Calderone reported that 20,755 were related to health and safety supervision. This figure represents an increase of 3,720 inspections over the previous year. The most recent Inail report disclosed that between January and December, there were over 585 thousand reported workplace accidents, reflecting a decrease of 16% from 2022. Regrettably, 1,041 of these incidents resulted in fatalities, a decline of 4.5%.
Meanwhile, the government is deliberating on a possible ban from procurement lasting two to five years in instances of severe health and safety violations at work or demonstrated criminal liability for crimes related to health and safety at work. Provisions under consideration for the next Council of Ministers meeting include strengthening health and safety protection in the workplace, coordinating and enhancing inspection activity, and refining the sanctions system. These measures would apply especially in cases of subcontracting, illicit and fraudulent administration, as well as the qualification of companies, employer and worker training, and the protection of compliant companies. A new penalization of sanctions related to procurement, subcontracting, and illicit administration is also on the table. The proposed provisions may also extend to the suspension and forfeiture of tax and social security benefits for businesses that fail to comply with regulations and an evaluation of the appropriateness of labor cost in relation to the entire contract cost. Measures under scrutiny include a coordination rule for prosecutors on investigation activities relating to workplace crimes and health and safety, and the tightening of current administrative sanctions regarding illegal and irregular work.
