French champagne producers are scrambling to restore their damaged reputation after four workers died last year in a heatwave as authorities closed down slums and launched investigations into suspected human trafficking.
This harvest, vineyards are taking steps to better protect workers from abuse in an effort to preserve the reputation of their famous sparkling wines.
“We asked for the whole industry to be mobilized,” said Maxime Toubart, head of the Champagne Growers Association.
Since the grape harvest began in early September, members of the CGT union have been handing out leaflets to grape pickers, many of whom are Eastern European.
The leaflets are available in eight languages, including Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Italian and French, and inform workers of their rights, including the minimum hourly wage, working hours limit and mandatory breaks.
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“Hello, we’ve come to inform you of your rights,” CGT unionists said to a group of workers picking Pinot Noir grapes in the small village of Igny-Comblizy on a recent morning.
As they spoke, Veuve Clicquot Champagne representatives kept a close eye on their subcontractor providing temporary work.
This year, 22 labor inspectors and 84 police officers have been deployed to oversee the harvest on a daily basis, according to the Marne prefecture in northeastern France.
“Camp in the woods”
Each year, around 120,000 seasonal workers come to pick grapes grown on 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in eastern France and used to make the iconic bubbly.
The famous winemakers’ reputation took a hit last year when reports surfaced of migrant workers living in squalid conditions and other labor abuses.
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Three temporary housing facilities were closed because they were “dirty” and “uninhabitable”.
Authorities have also launched an investigation into the deaths of four grape harvesters in the Champagne region, believed to have suffered heat stroke.
Industry group the Union of Champagne Houses tried to distance itself from the breaches, with its co-head David Chatillon blaming contractors who hire seasonal workers.
“Rogue actors have threatened the image of champagne,” Chatillon said angrily.
Last October, the industry group launched an action plan with a promise to improve existing practices.
Prosecutors in November 2023 opened two investigations into suspected human trafficking after about 200 Ukrainians and other foreign workers were found to be living in poor conditions during routine checks.
A contractor will be taken to court in March 2025 as a result of the first investigation. The second investigation is still ongoing.
José Blanco, general secretary of the CGT-Champagne union, said that despite improvements, the lack of proper housing was “the big problem of Champagne”.
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“We still find camps in the forest,” he said.
Blanco said the new generation of winegrowers had “failed in their mission,” adding that many lamented the strict housing standards for migrant workers.
Champagne houses “need to monitor their subcontractors, but many bury their heads in the sand,” Blanco added.
‘wake up call’
Maxime Mainguet, vice president of the newly formed subcontractors federation in Champagne, said the problems had been building for some time before coming to a head last year.
“I think it was a real wake-up call,” Mainguet said, adding that growers were now more careful when signing contracts. “The matter is taken very seriously.”
A penny-pinching winery, Moet & Chandon Champagne houses 1,900 of its 3,500 seasonal workers.
In the town of Pierry, about 100 workers live in a modern residence in the middle of the vineyards — a small two-story building with dormitories, bathrooms, a laundry room and a canteen.
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Employees are offered physical therapy sessions and stretching classes.
“We have to make people want to come and keep coming to harvest,” said Frederic Gallois, director of vineyards and procurement at Moet & Chandon.
On average, workers there earn between 1,200 and 2,000 euros ($1,340-2,230) for a 10-day stint.
While the CGT union has criticized the massive use of migrant workers, which it says is driving down wages, Toubart insisted that both French and foreigners receive equal pay and pointed to recruitment difficulties.
“The Champagne name doesn’t care at all about bad reception and bad pay,” Toubart said.
“It’s also about image and we don’t want to play games with that.”
Source: AFP