UDINE – A school pupil, 18-year-old Lorenzo Parelli died on the last day of his internship after a metal beam fell on him as he worked, authorities said. An investigation is underway into what caused the beam to fall and whether the student had been sufficiently trained for the role, while in other Italian cities the incident has triggered protests by young people who feel that unpaid work experience for school pupils is exploitative.

 Parelli had been doing his work experience at the Burimec di Lauzacco di Pavia factory in Udine, north east Italy. On Friday, the last day of the internship, a metal beam weighing some 150 kilos fell on him from above and he was killed. He had been due to return to school on Monday.

 So far, the prosecutor Lucia Terzariol has sent a guarantee notice for manslaughter to the legal representative of the company, Pietro Schneider, 71, but it is understood that more suspects will be identified in the coming days.

 The investigation will determine if employees who worked in the assembly sector of the plant hold any responsibility. Other questions concern the observance of safety measures and the precautions required in every work environment to prevent, for example, access to risk areas. 

 The second line of the investigation will establish whether the school pupil from Castions di Strada was employed in activities compatible with his role as a student and with his professional skills. Authorities have said that the Burimec employee who was in charge of Parelli’s training course had been absent from the company for some days due to illness.

 The death has caused particular controversy because it happened during an unpaid internship - a typical arrangement in Italian high schools - which trade unions have been protesting against for some years as they deem work experience a form of occupational exploitation.

 On Saturday, students gathered to protest the ‘alternation school-work system’ as the high school internship programme is known, calling it “a rotten system that teaches millions of young people that it is normal to work for free without rights and security.” More protests are expected in the coming weeks, however the number of young people taking part make up just a small minority of high school students.

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