Message from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Marcinelle tragedy and the 25th National Day of Sacrifice of Italian Workers Around the World. (Marcinelle, 8 August 2026)
Seventy years ago, on 8 August 1956, Marcinelle became forever etched in the collective memory of our country and of Europe. In the Bois du Cazier mine, 262 workers of twelve nationalities lost their lives, 136 of them Italians. Today, we remember each and every one of them. Behind those numbers were names, faces, families and hopes. They were men who had left their homeland to build, through their work, a better future for their children and to contribute to the rebuilding of Italy. This day also belongs to those who were left behind: the widows, the orphans and the communities that were able to transform immense grief into the strength of remembrance and the courage to move forward. From them, we learned the truest meaning of dignity: the dignity of those who had left their homeland to work, and of those who, for seventy years, have safeguarded and passed on their memory. For this reason, since 2001, following an initiative by the Berlusconi Government, 8 August has been observed as the National Day of Sacrifice of Italian Workers Around the World. Marcinelle was an Italian tragedy, but it was also profoundly European. Out of that pain came the growing awareness that Europe should be not merely an economic space, but a community founded on rights, solidarity and the protection of the individual. I have worked in Brussels, together with the entire Government, to make 8 August a European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Workplace Accidents. This is an initiative I have strongly advocated, and it will soon become a reality. In this European spirit, I intend to make a new visit to Marcinelle in the coming months together with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. Remembrance must be translated into responsibility and action. Our Constitution bases the Republic on work, recognises every citizen’s right to work and calls upon each of us to contribute to the progress of society. Every life lost in the workplace strikes at one of the very foundations of our democracy. No economic achievement can ever be worth a human life. The safety of workers is the foremost measure of a country’s civilisation. We need prevention, training, clear rules, rigorous inspections and a shared responsibility on the part of institutions, businesses and workers. Seventy years on, Italy stands united with Marcinelle. We do so to pay tribute to the victims, to express our closeness to their families and to renew our gratitude to the millions of our fellow citizens who, through their work, skills and sacrifice, continue every day to bring honour to our country around the world. Preserving the memory of Marcinelle means transforming it into responsibility. It means defending the dignity of work everywhere, strengthening a culture of safety and working to ensure that no one should ever again lose their life while building their own future and that of their family. This is the commitment we make before the fallen of Marcinelle and before all Italians around the world: never again deaths at work. Honour to the fallen of Marcinelle. Long live Italy, long live Italians abroad, long live Europe!
Antonio Tajani
