Rome, October 2007 (GRC) — The toll of Italian workers who die in workplace accidents is so high the country’s respected independent research center, Eurispes, has called it “worse than a war.”

According to Eurispes, an average of 1,376 people die each year in industrial accidents in Italy. Italians compare the toll to a plague and call it “white death.”

A study by the International Labor Organization ranks Italy, with 6.9 deaths per 100,000 workers, second out of 15 countries studied. In contrast, France has 3.0 deaths per 100,000 and the United Kingdom just 0.8 per 100,000.

The president of the Italy’s National Association for the Injured at Work points out that the country’s small- and medium-sized companies are not willing to spend money on the resources necessary for workplace health and safety.

In addition, he said, short contracts and high unemployment make workers reluctant to assert their rights and complain about dangerous workplace practices. Workers rarely officially report accidents for fear of losing their jobs.

The death toll is especially high among illegal-immigrant workers, mainly from Romania, Albania and the former Yugoslavia. Although they account for less than 5 percent of Italy’s population, they made up 11 percent of those who died between 2002 and 2006.

Most accidents occur in the following sectors, in order: construction, agriculture, transport and industry. Especially prone are the Lombardy and Emilia Romagna regions in Italy’s northern industrial heartland.

Each October the country mourns its workplace dead with a National Day for Work Victims.

For more information on life in Belgium, read Culture Briefing: Italy.