Decree of judicial administration for Alviero Martini, a high fashion company famous for its iconic bags with geographical maps designed with the First Class brand. This was ordered by the autonomous prevention measures section of the Court of Milan as part of an investigation conducted by the carabinieri of the Labor Inspectorate Unit and by the prosecutor Paolo Storari.
The company was detained incapable of preventing and combating labor exploitation in its production cycle. The company is suspected to have maximized profits using "Chinese factories" and employing undeclared and clandestine labor.
The products, coming from the Chinese factories at a cost of 20 euros, subsequently passed to the subcontractor, who sold them at 30 euros to the official contractors. Alviero Martini purchased the same bags for 50 euros and marketed them in shops at a price of 350 euros.
Never carried out inspections on the production chain
According to the investigations, Alviero Martini he would never have led "inspections or audits on the production chain to verify the real working conditions" and "the technical capabilities of the contracting companies so as to (guiltily) facilitate subjects reached by substantial evidentiary elements regarding the crime of caporalato".
It has been confirmed that the fashion house has completely outsourced its production processes, entrusting the entire production to third-party companies through procurement contracts that prohibit subcontracting without prior authorization. However, the contracting companies, although nominally declaring an "adequate production capacity", compete in the market by outsourcing orders to Chinese factories, "who in turn manage to reduce costs thanks to the use of irregular and clandestine labor in exploitative conditions". ”.
Connection between the world of luxury and Chinese laboratories
The investigation by the Milan Prosecutor's Office, which led to the appointment of Alviero Martini as commissioner, revealed a connection between the luxury sector and Chinese laboratories with a single objective: the reduction of costs and the maximization of profits through the circumvention of criminal labor regulations.
The company would have used Chinese factories as the last link in the production chain. According to the investigators, this system would have allowed profits to be maximized, forcing the Chinese factory to reduce labor costs (contributions, insurance and direct taxes) through the use of undeclared and clandestine labor.
Furthermore, the factory did not comply with the regulations on health and safety at work, nor the National Collective Agreements of the sector regarding wages, working hours, breaks and holidays.
According to testimonies, the workers received wages below the poverty line, just over 6 euros an hour, and slept in rooms used as dormitories, deemed hygienically unacceptable. The micro rooms were considered completely illegal, with the presence of mold and improvised electrical systems.
Illegal work and unhealthy environment
Starting from September 2023, the investigations conducted by the Carabinieri examined the methods of production, packaging and marketing of high fashion garments. THE Checks they focused on subjects entrusted with contracts and sub-contractors, consisting mainly of factories managed by Chinese citizens in the provinces of Milan, Monza and Brianza and Pavia.
In total, eight factories have been checked and all are irregular results, with the identification of 197 workers, of which 37 illegal and illegal employees. 10 complaints for gangmastering were presented to the owners of companies of Chinese origin, with fines exceeding 152 thousand euros and administrative sanctions for a total of 150 thousand euros. Furthermore, six of these companies have received suspension of operations.
In the factories of "actual and unauthorized production" it was found that the processing took place "in exploitative conditions (payment below threshold, non-compliant working hours, unhealthy working environments), in the presence of serious violations regarding safety in the workplace (failure to monitor health, failure to train and inform) as well as by hosting the workforce in dormitories built illegally and in hygienic-sanitary conditions below ethical minimum".
