In Sardinia, there are nearly 26,000 undocumented self-employed workers. Working entirely illegally or bordering on the rules, they undermine the thousands of regular businesses, especially artisans, operating on the island, severely impacting the regional economy. The list of professions under attack is long: painters and house painters, beauticians, bricklayers, appliance repairmen, plumbers, taxi drivers, but also mechanics, body repairers, photographers, electricians, gardeners, movers, and videographers.
The survey on "Crimes affecting business activity" was conducted by the Research Office of Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna, which reprocessed the 2023 ISTAT data.
The national ranking, which analyzed absolute data, is led by Lombardy with 104,500 "ghosts," followed by Campania with 96,600, and Lazio with 90,600. In total, there are an estimated 600,000 illegal and undocumented workers in Italy.
According to the analysis, construction companies are the ones most under attack by these "ghost figures"; 91.6% of companies in the sector suffer unfair competition from painters, decorators, and bricklayers. In second place is the wellness sector, namely hairdressers, beauticians, and nail technicians, with 87.6%. Personal and household goods repair services come in third at 83.6%. Plumbing follows (79.1%), followed by passenger transport/taxi drivers (78.5%), vehicle maintenance (71.5%), photographers (71.2%), and electricians (69.9%).
Illegal practices in the sector, in addition to costing millions of euros to social security and general taxation, are an irregular phenomenon that creates unfair competition for those operating with all the necessary permits and certifications.
"The phenomenon of illegal workers in the artisan sector represents a threat to both honest workers and consumers," says Giacomo Meloni, President of Confartigianato Sardegna. "The presence of phantom operators not only economically damages businesses that comply with regulations, but also poses health and safety risks to those who use uncertified services that lack the necessary health and hygiene guarantees ." "As an Association, we want and must protect legal artisans, those who are hit twice: in their income and as honest taxpayers," Meloni continues. "The phenomenon continues to harm all businesses and citizens who pay taxes and respect the law. In addition to taxes and bureaucracy," the President continues, " artisans must also contend with unfair competition that steals customers and important market shares . Illegal activity in this sector is not only damaging to legal businesses that operate legally and openly, but above all, an insult to customers."
" We must all make an effort to address the scourge of unfair competition, which is lethal and invasively affecting important economic sectors ," adds Daniele Serra, Secretary of Confartigianato Sardegna, "such as construction, plumbing, carpentry and window and door manufacturing, car repair, and wellness (i.e., beauty and hairdressing), as well as the food sector, where businesses and small artisans are fighting fierce, unequal, and daily battles against unauthorized dealers." " The situation is very serious, today more than ever: the profession cannot be improvised, let's remain vigilant and only put ourselves in good hands, " he adds. "Furthermore, unauthorized trades have a profound impact on the development of the artisan sector, and for this reason, we will continue to encourage the institutions to reverse one of Sardinia's most worrying emergencies."
(Unioneonline)
