Latest news with #migrant workers
France 24
22-07-2025
- France 24
France jails three in champagne 'slaves' case
The Champagne region is under tough scrutiny, with another inquiry looking into the use of Ukrainians during the same 2023 harvest, which was marked by exceptional heat and the death of four grape pickers. A lawyer for the victims -- more than 50 mostly undocumented migrant workers from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal -- said the court had made a "historic" decision. The victims, who said they had been treated "like slaves", also praised the ruling. "The people were working in really bad conditions, and this decision is fair," said Amadou Diallo, a 39-year-old from Senegal. The court sentenced the director of a servicing company called Anavim, a Kyrgyz woman in her forties, to two years behind bars, and another two years suspended. She had denied being responsible for the housing conditions, and blamed the two other defendants suspected of recruiting the harvesters. The court sentenced the two others, both men in their thirties, to one year in jail, alongside suspended terms. All three were found guilty of human trafficking -- defined under French law as "recruiting, transporting, transferring, housing or receiving a person to exploit them," by means of coerced employment, abusing a position of authority, abusing a vulnerable situation or in exchange of payment or benefits. The Anavim director was also found guilty of crimes including concealing employment of workers. The court in Chalons-en-Champagne dissolved the servicing company and ordered a wine-making cooperative it worked with to pay a 75,000-euro ($87,000) fine. The court ordered the three guilty to pay 4,000 euros each to each victim. A lawyer for the Anavim director called the ruling "unfair" and said there would be an appeal. "My client is the ideal culprit for an industry that has long turned a blind eye to its own practices," said Bruno Questel. - 'Like slaves' - Maxime Cessieux, an attorney for the victims, said the 2025 harvest "will be closely scrutinised and no one will be able to say 'I didn't know, I didn't understand, I didn't know who these people in my vineyards were'." In September 2023, the labour inspectorate found that the accommodation provided by Anavim for grape pickers southwest of Reims "seriously undermined" their safety, health and dignity. The accommodation was subsequently closed by the prefecture, which had pointed to makeshift bedding and "the appalling state of the toilets, washrooms and communal areas." Camara Sikou, one of the victims, told the court the workers had been treated "like slaves." "They put us in an abandoned building, with no food, no water, no nothing," added Modibo Sidibe, who said the workers were in the fields from 5.00am until 6.00pm. The Comite Champagne, which represents winegrowers and champagne houses, was a plaintiff in the trial. "You don't play with the health and safety of seasonal workers. Nor are we playing with the image of our appellation," the trade association said. The CGT champagne trade union said the punishment was not sufficient. "What we are asking for is the downgrading of the harvest" in the zones where the offences were committed so it could no longer be used to produce champagne, said Jose Blanco, CGT general secretary. Every year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are recruited to pick the grapes grown across 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in the Champagne region. In 2023, four harvesters died, possibly the result of sunstroke after working in scorching heat. A service provider and its manager will go on trial in November on suspicion of having housed 40 Ukrainians in unfit conditions. © 2025 AFP
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- News.com.au
France jails three in champagne 'slaves' case
A French court on Monday jailed three people for human trafficking in the champagne industry, exploiting seasonal workers and housing them in appalling conditions. The Champagne region is under tough scrutiny, with another inquiry looking into the use of Ukrainians during the same 2023 harvest, which was marked by exceptional heat and the death of four grape pickers. A lawyer for the victims -- more than 50 mostly undocumented migrant workers from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal -- said the court had made a "historic" decision. The victims, who said they had been treated "like slaves", also praised the ruling. "The people were working in really bad conditions, and this decision is fair," said Amadou Diallo, a 39-year-old from Senegal. The court sentenced the director of a servicing company called Anavim, a Kyrgyz woman in her forties, to two years behind bars, and another two years suspended. She had denied being responsible for the housing conditions, and blamed the two other defendants suspected of recruiting the harvesters. The court sentenced the two others, both men in their thirties, to one year in jail, alongside suspended terms. All three were found guilty of human trafficking -- defined under French law as "recruiting, transporting, transferring, housing or receiving a person to exploit them," by means of coerced employment, abusing a position of authority, abusing a vulnerable situation or in exchange of payment or benefits. The Anavim director was also found guilty of crimes including concealing employment of workers. The court in Chalons-en-Champagne dissolved the servicing company and ordered a wine-making cooperative it worked with to pay a 75,000-euro ($87,000) fine. The court ordered the three guilty to pay 4,000 euros each to each victim. A lawyer for the Anavim director called the ruling "unfair" and said there would be an appeal. "My client is the ideal culprit for an industry that has long turned a blind eye to its own practices," said Bruno Questel. - 'Like slaves' - Maxime Cessieux, an attorney for the victims, said the 2025 harvest "will be closely scrutinised and no one will be able to say 'I didn't know, I didn't understand, I didn't know who these people in my vineyards were'." In September 2023, the labour inspectorate found that the accommodation provided by Anavim for grape pickers southwest of Reims "seriously undermined" their safety, health and dignity. The accommodation was subsequently closed by the prefecture, which had pointed to makeshift bedding and "the appalling state of the toilets, washrooms and communal areas." Camara Sikou, one of the victims, told the court the workers had been treated "like slaves." "They put us in an abandoned building, with no food, no water, no nothing," added Modibo Sidibe, who said the workers were in the fields from 5.00am until 6.00pm. The Comite Champagne, which represents winegrowers and champagne houses, was a plaintiff in the trial. "You don't play with the health and safety of seasonal workers. Nor are we playing with the image of our appellation," the trade association said. The CGT champagne trade union said the punishment was not sufficient. "What we are asking for is the downgrading of the harvest" in the zones where the offences were committed so it could no longer be used to produce champagne, said Jose Blanco, CGT general secretary. Every year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are recruited to pick the grapes grown across 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in the Champagne region. In 2023, four harvesters died, possibly the result of sunstroke after working in scorching heat. A service provider and its manager will go on trial in November on suspicion of having housed 40 Ukrainians in unfit conditions.
France 24
21-07-2025
- France 24
French court jails three for treating champagne workers 'like slaves'
A French court on Monday jailed three people for human trafficking in the champagne industry, exploiting seasonal workers and housing them in appalling conditions. The Champagne region is under tough scrutiny, with another inquiry looking into the use of Ukrainians during the same 2023 harvest, which was marked by exceptional heat and the death of four grape pickers. A lawyer for the victims – more than 50 mostly undocumented migrant workers from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal – said the court had made a "historic" decision. The victims, who said they had been treated "like slaves", also praised the ruling. "The people were working in really bad conditions, and this decision is fair," said Amadou Diallo, a 39-year-old from Senegal. The court sentenced the director of a servicing company called Anavim, a Kyrgyz woman in her forties, to two years behind bars, and another two years suspended. She had denied being responsible for the housing conditions, and blamed the two other defendants suspected of recruiting the harvesters. The court sentenced the two others, both men in their thirties, to one year in jail, alongside suspended terms. All three were found guilty of human trafficking – defined under French law as "recruiting, transporting, transferring, housing or receiving a person to exploit them," by means of coerced employment, abusing a position of authority, abusing a vulnerable situation or in exchange of payment or benefits. The Anavim director was also found guilty of crimes including concealing employment of workers. The court in Chalons-en-Champagne dissolved the servicing company and ordered a wine-making cooperative it worked with to pay a 75,000-euro ($87,000) fine. The court ordered the three guilty to pay 4,000 euros each to each victim. A lawyer for the Anavim director called the ruling "unfair" and said there would be an appeal. "My client is the ideal culprit for an industry that has long turned a blind eye to its own practices," said Bruno Questel. 'Like slaves' Maxime Cessieux, an attorney for the victims, said the 2025 harvest "will be closely scrutinised and no one will be able to say 'I didn't know, I didn't understand, I didn't know who these people in my vineyards were'." In September 2023, the labour inspectorate found that the accommodation provided by Anavim for grape pickers southwest of Reims "seriously undermined" their safety, health and dignity. The accommodation was subsequently closed by the prefecture, which had pointed to makeshift bedding and "the appalling state of the toilets, washrooms and communal areas". Camara Sikou, one of the victims, told the court the workers had been treated "like slaves". "They put us in an abandoned building, with no food, no water, no nothing," added Modibo Sidibe, who said the workers were in the fields from 5am until 6pm. The Comite Champagne, which represents winegrowers and champagne houses, was a plaintiff in the trial. "You don't play with the health and safety of seasonal workers. Nor are we playing with the image of our appellation," the trade association said. The CGT champagne trade union said the punishment was not sufficient. "What we are asking for is the downgrading of the harvest" in the zones where the offences were committed so it could no longer be used to produce champagne, said Jose Blanco, CGT general secretary. Every year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are recruited to pick the grapes grown across 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in the Champagne region. In 2023, four harvesters died, possibly the result of sunstroke after working in scorching heat. A service provider and its manager will go on trial in November on suspicion of having housed 40 Ukrainians in unfit conditions.
CNA
21-07-2025
- CNA
France jails three for exploiting migrant labour in Champagne harvest
CHLONS-EN-CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE: A French court on Monday (July 21) sentenced three people to jail for human trafficking in the Champagne region, ruling they exploited dozens of seasonal migrant workers and housed them in appalling conditions during the 2023 grape harvest. The trial, which centred on a company called Anavim, highlighted growing scrutiny over labour practices in the wine-making sector. A separate investigation is also probing the alleged use of undocumented Ukrainian workers in the same harvest, which was marked by intense heat and the deaths of four grape pickers. More than 50 victims, mostly undocumented migrants from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal, told the court they had been treated 'like slaves.' 'LIKE SLAVES,' NO FOOD OR WATER 'The people were working in really bad conditions, and this decision is fair,' said Amadou Diallo, a 39-year-old Senegalese man. The court sentenced the Kyrgyz director of Anavim to two years in prison, plus a two-year suspended term. She denied responsibility for the housing, blaming two male associates who helped recruit the workers. The two men, both in their thirties, were each sentenced to one year in jail with additional suspended terms. All three were convicted of human trafficking, defined under French law as exploiting a person through coercion, authority, vulnerability, or for payment. The Anavim director was also convicted of concealing the employment of undocumented workers. The court ordered the dissolution of Anavim and imposed a €75,000 (US$87,000) fine on a wine-making cooperative that worked with the firm. The three defendants must pay €4,000 to each victim. A lawyer for the Anavim director said the ruling was 'unfair' and would be appealed. 'My client is the ideal culprit for an industry that has long turned a blind eye to its own practices,' said defence lawyer Bruno Questel. HARVEST UNDER SCRUTINY Victims recounted grim details of their experience. 'They put us in an abandoned building, with no food, no water, no nothing,' said Modibo Sidibe, who described 13-hour workdays in the vineyards. Labour inspectors who visited the workers' accommodation in September 2023 described conditions that 'seriously undermined' health and dignity. Authorities later closed the building, citing makeshift bedding and 'the appalling state of the toilets, washrooms and communal areas.' Maxime Cessieux, a lawyer for the victims, said the verdict marked a turning point. 'The 2025 harvest will be closely scrutinised, and no one will be able to say 'I didn't know',' he said. INDUSTRY REACTION AND DEMANDS The Comité Champagne, which represents growers and producers, was a plaintiff in the case. 'You don't play with the health and safety of seasonal workers,' it said in a statement. 'Nor are we playing with the image of our appellation.' However, the CGT Champagne trade union said the punishment did not go far enough. Its general secretary, Jose Blanco, called for downgrading the harvest from areas where violations occurred, so the grapes could not be used in champagne production. Each year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are hired to pick grapes across 34,000 hectares in the Champagne region.
South China Morning Post
17-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's job market preps for impact as record graduate wave approaches
Despite an easing of China's youth unemployment rate in June, the country is steeling itself for a challenging job-hunting season as a record number of fresh graduates prepares to enter the labour market. Advertisement The urban jobless rate for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students, dipped to 14.5 per cent last month – more than one in seven people – from 14.9 per cent in May, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. While this marked the fourth consecutive month that China's youth unemployment has fallen, it remained over one percentage point higher than the figure recorded at the same time last year, suggesting significant strain on the job market as the graduation season approaches. A sharp rise in unemployment is expected over the next two months, when a record 12.2 million university students are set to graduate and a majority likely to join the workforce. In 2024, the urban youth unemployment rate jumped from 13.2 per cent to 17.1 per cent between June and July. Advertisement 'Employment pressure on key groups such as young people and migrant workers, as well as some industries, has increased,' said Wang Pingping - head of the bureau's population and employment statistics department - in an article published Wednesday on China Economic Net, a news website run by the state-owned Economic Daily.
