After the deaths of four workers last year, French champagne producers are offering workers physiotherapy and stretching classes.

This vintage, vineyards are taking steps to better protect workers from abuse in an attempt to maintain the reputation of their renowned sparkling wines.

“We asked for the whole sector to be mobilized,” said Maxime Toubart, who heads the champagne growers’ association.

Since grape picking 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 minimum hourly wages, working hours limits and mandatory breaks.

“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, representatives of the champagne house Veuve Clicquot kept a close eye on the subcontractor providing temporary labor.

This year, 22 labor inspectors and 84 police officers were sent to oversee the harvest daily, according to the Marne prefecture in northeastern France.

“Camps in the Woods”

Each year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are brought in to hand-pick the grapes that are grown on 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in eastern France and used to make its iconic sparkling wine.

The famed winemakers’ reputation took a hit last year when reports surfaced of migrant workers living in appalling conditions and other labor abuses.

Three temporary sites were closed for being “dirty” and “unfit for habitation”.

Authorities have also launched an investigation into the deaths of four grape pickers in the Champagne region who are believed to have suffered heatstroke in the scorching heat.

The Union of Champagne Houses industry group tried to distance itself from the breaches, with its co-chairman David Chatillon blaming contractors who hire seasonal workers.

“Rogue actors have threatened the image of champagne,” Chatillon said furiously.

Last October, the industry group launched an action plan vowing to improve existing practices.

In November 2023, prosecutors opened two investigations into alleged human trafficking after around 200 Ukrainian and other foreign workers were found 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.

Jose Blanco, general secretary of the CGT-Champagne union, said that despite improvements, the lack of adequate housing was “Champagne’s big problem”.

“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 strict housing standards for migrant workers.

Champagne houses “should be mindful of their subcontractors, but many are burying their heads in the sand,” Blanco added.

“Wake Up Call”

Maxime Mainguet, vice president of the newly formed Champagne subcontractors federation, 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 was taken very seriously.”

A penniless winery, Moet & Chandon Champagne employs 1,900 of its 3,500 seasonal workers.

In the town of Pierry, about 100 employees stay in a modern residence in the middle of the vineyards — a small two-story building equipped with dormitories, bathrooms, a laundry room and a cafeteria.

Workers are offered physical therapy sessions and stretching classes.

“We have to make people want to come and keep coming to the harvest,” said Frederic Gallois, director of vineyard and sourcing at Moet & Chandon.

On average, workers there earn between 1,200 and 2,000 euros ($1,340-$2,230) for a 10-day period.

While the CGT union has criticized the heavy use of migrant workers, which it says is driving down wages, Toubart insisted that both French nationals and foreigners receive equal pay and pointed to recruitment difficulties.

“The champagne name has no interest in bad reception and bad pay,” Toubart said.

“It’s also a matter of image and we don’t want to play with that.”