On February 25, 2025, in the Laudato room yes of the Capitol in Rome, the conference was held “Safety at work and psychological well -being”. Organized by the Aona and sponsored by the Rome Bar Association, the event deepened the strategies to improve working conditions and guarantee the protection of workers’ health
Protect well -being and guarantee workers’ productivity
“The legal projects taking place by several political parties can be summarized in a single proposal. The protection of health and safety at work is neither right nor left ». Thus, the lawyer Ezio Bonannipresident of theNational Asbestos Observatory(Ona), at the conference “Safety at work and psychological well -being”. “Wellness is not intended only as an absence of organic disease, but also as a psychophysical balance, such as serenity, the possibility of thinking about the future”.
Safety at work takes on an increasingly central role in the public debate, since it represents a fundamental element to protect well -being and guarantee workers’ productivity. The prevention of accidents and occupational diseases does not constitute a simple company burden, but an essential social responsibility.
For President Ona, it is necessary to work concretely to guarantee workers a safe environment and a quality of life that goes beyond the simple absence of illness. At the same time, psychological well -being emerges as a decisive factor: stress, burnout and working precariousness compromise the quality of life and professional performance.
A right, that of psychological well -being which, specified the president Ona, does not concern only civil workers, but also extends to the police and the Armed forceswhich often operate in difficult conditions and with inadequate means. «The worker citizen, but also the military worker citizen, must be protected. This theme is not foreign to the armed forces, which are entitled to safety at work like any other citizen ».
Bonanni therefore recalled that the Council of State also implemented the guidelines of the Cassation regarding the applicability of the protections of article 2087 of the civil code to the military.
Make businesses sustainable
In this scenario, the conference wanted to offer a multidisciplinary perspective on strategies to make businesses sustainable, promoting safe work environments and respectful of the mental health of employees.
The military should not be exposed to risks not strictly linked to their role, as well as the police cannot be subjected to dangers that exceed the boundaries of their function of protection of public order and safety.
Bonanni highlighted the operational difficulties of the police, often forced to work with inadequate means with respect to daily challenges: “We must begin to think that our carabinieri and our police are often equipped with unsuitable vehicles, such as Fiat Panda or Fiat Uno, with whom they have to chase dangerous criminals armed with full point and equipped with much more powerful and equipped means”.
He also underlined the importance of digitization within the police, so that they can operate with advanced technological tools and face modern crime with greater effectiveness. “This is not just a physical security problem -he added -,, but also of dignity. Denying our men in uniform adequate tools means denying their own professional dignity “.
Finally, he appealed to politics to act without further delay: “I think we can immediately start with concrete actions, because we can no longer allow us to ignore these problems.”
Prevention and legal obstacles
The conference brought together several experts, including the criminal lawyer Riccardo Brigazzi and the criminologist Melissa Trombetta. Brigazzi has faced the legal obstacles in the recognition of responsibilities in cases of exposure to asbestos, while Trombetta emphasized the prevention and the need to create a healthy work environment, introducing new psychological support perspectives for victims.
The criminal lawyer shared his experience in the processes in which the National Asbestos Observatory was formed civil party, highlighting how the issue revolves around the demonstration of the causal link between exposure to asbestos and illness. For some time, the Ona has been trying to statute of a jurisprudence that decrees stopped points to obtain justice and compensation adequate to the victims. A solid jurisprudence with uniform sentences to guarantee justice to those who have the right.
Although the correlation between asbestos and disease is widely recognized, defensive strategies focus on the contributing factors, complicating the task of the judges. Brigazzi told cases of workers exposed for decades without protections and families unconsciously contaminated by dust.
Safety at work in a preventive and criminological perspective
Dr. Melissa Trombetta instead addressed the issue of safety at work in a preventive and criminological perspective, explaining that a healthy company is built with rules, prevention and protection of the psychological well -being of workers.
«Resources management, legality and risk prevention are essential elements for a safe work environment. We must put mechanisms in practice that concern everything at 360 degrees », The criminologist said.
An innovative aspect of his intervention concerned the introduction of psychological recovery paths for the victims of work through assisted interventions with horses.
«We want to encourage the assisted interventions with the horses, a novelty that is giving concrete answers. Contact with these animals allows people to re -emerge from fear and disease in a natural way ».
The goal, according to the expert, is to support the safety measures at work psychological support strategies for those who have undergone harmful exhibitions. A healthy company, he concluded, must not only guarantee protection from the risks, but also taking care of the psychological and emotional well -being of workers and victims.
The importance of humility in the working context
Dr. Paola Vegliantei, president of theAcademy of legalityopened his intervention by underlining the importance of humility in the working context. “Maintaining humility is the most beautiful thing, because today this is also part of psychological well -being in the working environment”.
He then highlighted how awareness of his role and discipline are fundamental for a job done with excellence. “If you are prepared, your role holds it on excellence.”
However, he denounced the lack of protection in many sectors, explaining that the problem was not born with pandemic, but was already present and the health crisis only amplified it. “It wasn’t Pandemia that pulled out the critical issues. They were already before. “
He then emphasized the responsibility of employers in guaranteeing adequate conditions, highlighting the lack of culture of security. “Unfortunately, there is no culture of loveing each other.”
Specifically, Dr. Vegliantei reiterated that safety and psychological well -being depend on both workers and employers. “The responsibility is 50-50, nobody is excluded.”
Another key point of his speech was the reference to the condition of women and young people in the world of work. “If the employer does not allow me to be able to work, how do I do?” He then added that psychological well -being starts from the corporate leadership. “If the employer gives me simple but important tools to grow, I will flourish and will also flow the company.”
Finally, he closed his intervention with an appeal to clarity and transparency in working dynamics, denouncing the problems related to illicit contracts and work precariousness. “Where there is clarity, transparency and good will, there can be no other situations”.
Early pension access
The Hon. Giovanni Maiorano, a member of the Anti -Mafia Commission, illustrated his bill for early pension access to those who worked for at least ten years in asbestos -contaminated environments. “I don’t care that this law bears my name. What matters is that it is approved. ” He reiterated that the recognition of this right can never repay the suffering suffered, but will be able to return dignity to the exposed workers.
“Asbestos has no colors. Priority has no colors “
Sergio Costa, former Minister of the Environment, has denounced the presence of over 32 million tons of asbestos still scattered on the Italian territory, a figure that the ona estimate can reach up to 40 million. “Asbestos has no colors. Priority has no colors. “ He urged immediate funding for reclamation and asked the parliamentary majority to approve an organic law on asbestos by 31 December 2025, in accordance with European directives.
The importance of citizens’ reports
Fabrizio Santori, councilor of the Capitoline Assembly, praised the role of the Aona and the institutions in the fight against asbestos risk, underlining the importance of citizens’ reports to solicit timely actions. He recalled the institutions to a more widespread monitoring and a greater commitment to prevent accidents and deaths at work.
Psychological consequences
Nicola De Marinis, councilor of the Court of Cassation, has highlighted how security in the workplace no longer only concerns physical risks, but also the psychological consequences deriving from organizational and technological changes, such as smart working and the use of decision -making algorithms .
Ensure effective reclamation
Councilor Trabucco reiterated the need for institutional synergy to guarantee effective reclamation and compliance with the safety rules on construction sites, especially in view of the Jubilee 2025. “These battles have no political color.” He also reported the completion of the removal of 3,500 square meters of asbestos by the Ambroselli Institute of Centocelle, an intervention made possible thanks to the collaboration between Roma Capitale, the Lazio Region and PNRR.
The length of the legal battles
Luigi Abbate, journalist and president of the city council of Taranto, denounced the difficulties in the recognition of asbestos-related diseases, telling the long legal battle to obtain justice for his father. “Too often the consolidated scientific literature is denied. It is unacceptable “.
Asbestos, a risk also for future generations
Professor Matteo Villanova, professor at the Roma Tre University, highlighted how the spread of toxic substances, including asbestos, does not represent only a risk for workers, but also for future generations. He denounced the fragmentation between medical, legal and educational world as an obstacle to the protection of public health.
We invest more in denying the causal link
Pasquale Bacco, medical examiner, attacked the systematic injustice that surrounds the victims of asbestos, denouncing how to invest more in denying the causal link than in prevention. “Asbestos is an Italian scandal. If only we wanted, all this would have been avoidable. “ Bacco also highlighted that “There are children who study in schools with asbestos and others who don’t even know what it is. We can no longer continue like this. “
Labor safety regulations ineffective
General Cardillo criticized the ineffectiveness of workplace safety regulations, underlining that the laws, if not supported by an adequate control system, remain ineffective. “If you promise a law without having the means to apply it, it is useless.”
The judgments obtained by the A on is decisive
The lawyer Guerrino Petillo, coordinator of the Unit Technical Scientific Committee, defined the judgments obtained by the A onset decisive to bring to the limelight a problem too long ignored. “The deaths at work impress their drama, but those we deal with are the silent deaths”.