FLORENCE, Italy – Leather goods workers in the Italian city of Prato, who were holding a protest to demand better working conditions, have been attacked while manning a picket line, their trade union said on Wednesday.
Prato is home to one of the largest concentrations of Chinese-run businesses in Europe, making clothes and handbags bearing the prized “Made in Italy” label for fashion and luxury groups.
However, the area has seen a series of police raids and criminal investigations over the years into alleged use of illegal immigrants and failure to follow basic health and safety rules.
Workers from other firms in the district went on strike and staged an impromptu night-time march in the centre of Prato in response to the attack, a city with almost 200,000 residents near Florence, the Sudd Cobas union said.Workers coordinated by Sudd Cobas had been protesting since Sunday outside five fashion industry workshops. The union said protesting workers in Prato had often been the victims of attacks and intimidation.
The union said the workers targeted overnight were attacked by a hooded group wielding iron bars, resulting in four people being treated in hospital.
Carabinieri police said they found four people with non-serious injuries when they arrived on the scene, and were investigating the incident.
The attackers, who appeared to be Italian, left the scene shouting “next time we will shoot you”, said local Sudd Cobas leader Luca Toscano, who was among the injured, along with two Pakistani workers and another person.