Premier Mario Draghi said he was "deeply saddened" after a Moroccan-born trade unionist was killed on Friday by a truck that drove through a picket line outside a Lidl facility in northern Italy.
"I am deeply saddened by Adil Belakhdim's death. Light must be shed immediately on what happened," Draghi tweeted from Barcelona, where he is attending a bilateral dialogue conference.
Belakhdim, a 37-year-old father-of-two who was also an Italian citizen, was crushed to death by the truck while taking part in a strike outside a Lidl logistics warehouse in Biandrate, his union, COBAS, said.
The truck driver fled the scene in his vehicle but was tracked down by police on a highway and detained for questioning.
Two other protesters who were injured by the truck were taken to hospital.