Moroccan Vineyard Workers in France Allege Wage Theft and Trafficking

The three Moroccans claim to have never received a salary since their arrival in France. In their complaints filed on Tuesday with the gendarmeries of Coutras, Saint-Emilion and Castillon-la-Bataille for "threat of crime against persons with order to fulfill a condition", they accuse their employer of having extorted 14,000 euros from them, reports France 3.

The three plaintiffs claim that a year and a half ago, they worked for five months during which they received pay slips and employer certificates, but no amount was paid into their account. "The intermediary received their salaries and kept them in his account, explaining to them that it was to repay their alleged 14,000 euro debt," explains Christian Delgado, a member of the Bienvenue aux travailleurs agricoles en pays foyen et en pays castillonais (BTAPFPC) collective, an association that helps foreign seasonal agricultural workers.

The three Moroccans also denounce deplorable living conditions. They are housed with "a woman of African origin" to whom they pay a rent of 170 euros. "The accommodation is unsanitary and there were up to 12 of them living there," Delgado is alarmed. Overwhelmed by the situation, they decide to file a complaint. "Following these complaints, the intermediary threatened the three victims as well as their family still in Morocco. He sent men to have them withdraw their complaint. They fled to Castillon-la-Bataille because they were afraid," he denounces.

The Collective has called on lawyers to file labor tribunal cases. "We need to be able to help them recover these five months of unpaid wages," explains Christian Delgado. Several cases of human trafficking on agricultural and especially wine-growing farms have been brought before the courts of Aquitaine in recent years. Five people accused of having exploited 22 Moroccan workers in Lot-et-Garonne will be tried in late February. In Gironde, a father and son were convicted of similar acts last November.

According to the French Ministry of the Interior, cases of human trafficking increased by 6% in 2023. In the Libournais region, eight cases have been reported. "The problem is that today, anyone can become a service provider," laments Christian Delgado. During a colloquium, the Libourne prosecutor’s office committed to fighting these criminal human trafficking networks. "It intends to clean up the Libournais, even to seize the assets of employers who subject people to human trafficking," affirms the president of the Collective, who calls for the establishment of a structure to ensure the follow-up of these complaints.