Geneva  - Seasonal workers in Italy, most of them from Morocco, allege they are being exploited by their employers and forced to live in unsafe conditions, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Tuesday.

Based on assessment in San Nicola Varco, south of Naples, of about 1,000 such migrant workers, the IOM found they had "taken over abandoned structures, eking out a living amid piles of rubbish, without running water or electricity."

Jean-Philippe Chauzy, a spokesman for the IOM in Geneva, said the workers alleged they were labouring for 12 hours a day and receiving between 15 and 25 euros (21 and 35 dollars) a day for their work, generally in the agricultural sector.

Most had fallen victim to a fraud, perpetrated by both an agent in their homeland and the Italian employers, according to the organization.

The IOM said it was working with the Rome and Rabat to improve the situation.

Between 15.9 and 17.6 per cent of Italy's gross domestic product is believed to come from informal labour.(dpa)