Piacenza, August 31, 2026 – He died at 42 years old, struck down by a sudden illness while making a delivery in Piacenza. Pasquale Andriotta, a courier contracted by Brt, was on the last day of his fixed-term contract, «which expired today and, according to colleagues, he feared it would not be renewed».
The Filt-Cgil denounces this, recalling that «today the workers of the Brt contract in Piacenza-Caorso (Afs service) were on strike following the state of agitation declared on Friday». The protest was based on «increasing workloads, staff shortages, increasingly heavy shifts, and an organization now considered unsustainable».
«The Filt Cgil of Piacenza – reads a union statement – expresses deep condolences for the death of Pasquale Andriotta, 42 years old, a worker registered with the Cgil and father of three children, struck down by a sudden illness this morning while making a delivery in Vicolo del Guazzo, in Piacenza. A tragedy that affects a family, his colleagues, and our entire organization. But it happens on a day and in a context that make some questions inevitable», adds the union.
The drama of job insecurity and work during scorching heat days
«Job insecurity is not only a contractual condition, but can concretely affect a worker’s freedom to stop, strike, or avoid conditions they consider too burdensome. Added to this are the high temperatures of these hours, a further factor that makes it even more necessary to precisely ascertain what the working conditions were today».
The protest was underway against workloads and staff shortages
«We cannot and do not want to establish today what caused the sudden illness – states the Filt Cgil of Piacenza – and investigations will clarify it. But we also cannot ignore a dramatic coincidence: Pasquale died while working on a day when his colleagues were striking precisely to denounce overloads, staff shortages, and working conditions that had become too heavy».
“Full clarity must be made”
For the Filt Cgil it is now necessary «to shed full light also on the organization of work on today’s day. How many workers were on duty? How many deliveries had been assigned? Did the absence of striking workers lead to an increase in workloads for those who worked? What measures had been adopted considering the high temperatures?»
