On 15 October, Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a decree law that will allow for more effective intervention related to occupational health and safety violations and illegal work. The text strengthens sanctions, expands the role of the labour inspectorate, and facilitates coordination between the institutions that are responsible for controlling and monitoring. These measures are all the more necessary as Italy continues to record a record number of victims of workplace accidents with official data from Inail* already having registered 772 deaths for the first eight months of 2021.