Teams from the Ministry of Labor carried out checks on the employment and accommodation conditions of seasonal workers. In Chaux, two estates were forced to “rehouse grape pickers housed in unworthy conditions”.
Press release from the Côte-d'Or Departmental Directorate of Employment, Labor and Solidarity of November 7, 2024:
As every year, the Côte d'Or labor inspection service carried out checks in the vineyards to ensure compliance with the conditions of employment and accommodation of the pickers.
During six days of visit, including one in collaboration with the Mutualité Sociale Agricole, the teams checked 23 areas as well as 12 service providers and temporary employment companies.
Inspections revealed several violations, mainly cases of concealed work and employment of foreign workers without authorization. These offenses involve wine service providers and their principals, namely wine estates.
For several years, labor inspection services and their partners have reminded professionals in the sector of their obligation to verify the social and legal regularity of the service providers they hire. Failure to comply with this vigilance exposes the wine estate to sanctions, particularly in the event of hidden work or employment of workers without legal authorization.
In addition, six checks focused specifically on the accommodation conditions of grape pickers, including two carried out in cooperation with the gendarmerie, notably in the commune of Chaux. These inspections led to two injunctions addressed to estates, forcing them to relocate grape pickers housed in unworthy conditions by service companies. When the accommodation conditions are considered unworthy, the principals must order the employer to regularize them without delay, failing which the estate must itself ensure the rehousing of the workers. The estates concerned took rapid measures to rehouse the grape pickers.
This recurring control aims to guarantee respect for the rights of seasonal workers, in the context of a wine-growing activity requiring strict compliance with employment and safety standards.
The labor inspection service of the DDETS of Côte d'Or provides broad information on the regulations applicable to the employment and accommodation of seasonal workers, during meetings with representative organizations of the profession or pre-meetings. harvest.
He is also available to the profession to provide them with all the necessary information regarding the hiring of seasonal workers or the use of service provision.
