(Mailly-Champagne) In France the world of champagne, shaken during the harvest last year by serious incidents affecting seasonal workers, is mobilizing to avoid new “drifts” and protect the image of sparkling wine, efforts judged insufficient by trade unionists.
Between 100,000 and 120,000 people arrive each year for around ten days on the 34,300 hectares of the Champagne vineyards to pick the grapes by hand.
We must guarantee their safety, in the rain as well as in the heatwave, often feeding them, housing them, transporting them.
Last year, five seasonal workers died, in a context of extreme heat, the prefecture of Marne (north-east) ordered the closure of accommodation occupied by foreign employees in conditions deemed “unsanitary” and “unworthy” , and two investigations were opened for “human trafficking”.
The profession was shocked by these “abnormalities”, assures David Chatillon, co-president of Comité Champagne, which represents 16,200 winegrowers, 130 cooperatives and 370 champagne houses.
“There is no question that unacceptable individual behavior threatens the safety of seasonal workers and the reputation of an entire industry,” he underlined Thursday during the presentation of an action plan.
1700 euros in 10 days
Preparing for the two to three weeks of harvest is “the work of a whole year,” notes Frédéric Gallois, director of vineyards and supplies for the Moët & Chandon brand, owned by the LVMH group.
Near the Romont estate press in Mailly-Champagne, surrounded by small plots of vines on the slopes of the Montagne de Reims, the prestigious house recently built a building that can accommodate 150 grape pickers, divided into rooms with 3 to 8 beds, all with a large locker.
The company also provides a large common room, varied meals, physiotherapists and even entertainers to keep the evenings busy.
In the vineyards, in the event of extreme heat, the group is ready to shift schedules.
Harvesting the grape harvest is “a difficult physical activity,” explains Frédéric Gallois. Beyond the salary, on average 1,700 euros (2,500 CAN dollars) for around ten days at Moët & Chandon, “you have to be attractive,” he says.
The house welcomes a total of 4,300 pickers, including 2,300 through service providers.
“We impose the same rules on them as ours,” says Frédéric Gallois.
The general secretary of the Champagne inter-union, José Blanco, welcomes these initiatives. According to him, Moët & Chandon “became aware very early on of the impact that a poor reception from seasonal workers could have on the image of champagne”.
A delegation from Nordic countries came in April to ensure that the sector respected workers’ rights.
“Unfortunately, this is not the case for other houses and winegrowers,” he adds, especially denouncing the increasing use of service providers.
Good intentions without sanction
According to the Champagne committee, a thousand service companies now recruit half of the grape harvesters.
The committee pushed them to form a union, to have a contact, and created a platform where they can evaluate their practices, which clients can consult.
For José Blanco, these good intentions will not solve the problems “as long as the principals are not held responsible” for the actions of their service providers.
The profession could decide on specifications for the reception of seasonal workers, for example prohibiting any accommodation in tents, he said. And if a winegrower does not respect it, his harvest may not benefit from the appellation.
The Champagne committee “does not have the power to sanction”, retorts David Chatillon, stressing that it has requested more checks from the gendarmes and the labor inspectorate and has planned a daily monitoring unit with the authorities during the harvest.
“We were all stunned” by the incidents of 2023, assures Marie-Pierre Charpentier, president of the Group of Young Winegrowers of Champagne.
On the family farm in Villers-sous-Châtillon (Marne), they directly hire 40 to 60 people for the harvest.
“We can’t predict whether someone will have a cardiovascular accident because of the heat,” she says. “But the goal is to offer them the best possible conditions. »
Guides listing obligations and good practices are given to winegrowers each year.
“The industry did the job,” she believes. “Anyone who does not see these instructions is because they do not want to. »