The committee, made up of representatives from Italy's two largest agricultural associations and three biggest trade unions, has issued an order making it obligatory for farm labourers to drink water while working The order, which comes in the middle of a heatwave, will extend throughout the summer into the fast of Ramadan, which this year starts on August 20.
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Committee President Roberto Cagliari, who also leads the Mantua chapter of agricultural organisation Coldiretti, said the decision had been taken in order to protect workers in the province's tomato and melon fields. ''We made the order because we want to safeguard the health of our workers as much as possible,'' he said. ''The refusal to drink water on the part of various farmhands in melon fields during Ramadan last year created considerable problems''.
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But a representative of the Mantuan Islamic community, Ben Mansour, said the order was illegal and unnecessary. ''There is no work contract and no legal provision requiring us to drink during Ramadan and if any Muslim worker is fired for this, then we will contest it,'' he said.
Islam in Europe