Rome, 30 August (LaPresse) ‘Human dignity depends on worker protection and workplace safety, which are too often neglected in the pursuit of profit.’ These were the words of Italian President Sergio Mattarella in a message sent to Domenico Mesiano, president of the “Mattmark 2025” Committee and the Italia Valais Association. ‘The commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Mattmark dam tragedy, which caused the death of eighty-eight people, including fifty-six Italians, renews the painful memory of one of the most dramatic chapters in Italian labour abroad,’ he emphasised. ‘The history of our emigration tells us of the commitment and sacrifice of so many compatriots who sought, far from their homeland, to build a better future for themselves and their families. It is an indelible part of our identity as Italians that leads the Republic to promote, at home, at European and international level, rules that guarantee fair, sustainable and safe work.’ “The avalanche – the greatest natural disaster in the Canton of Valais – struck the shacks that housed the workers on the construction site, causing their deaths,” the Head of State recalls. . “The Italian Republic extends its heartfelt sympathy to the families of the victims and to all those who are today united in the memory of that painful event, in recognition of the hard work of the workers from every country who perished in that tragic circumstance”.
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