A-Infos (en) France, CNT-AIT, Anarchosyndicalisme #179: Struggle of Spanish harvesters exploited in Champagne (ca, de, it, fr, pt, tr)[machine translation]

This is the story of a group of 53 Spanish workers. They are unemployed, they are 
very poor, some are almost homeless. One day, on social networks or by word of 
mouth, they learn that Moët et Chandon is recruiting pickers for its Champagne 
vines. They inquire with the recruiter: yes, it's true, Moët is urgently 
recruiting pickers! The work is remunerated according to the quantities 
harvested, you can earn from 800 to 1300 Ero for 8 or 9 days of work, the round 
trip is paid for by Moët, accommodation? Is it almost luxury, the food? 
Excellent. I'm vegan says one, I'm muslim says another, no problem, there will be 
halal food as well as for vegans. Health coverage? She is great.
Off they went in a bus provided by Moët. Upon arrival, they must sign the 
contract; they know French very poorly and there is no translator: they sign; 
later, they will find out that they have contractually waived health coverage. 
Then immediately, the harvest which promises to be sumptuous does not wait. None, 
except one, has ever taken part in a harvest. They do not count the baskets 
harvested and they will never see statements of their harvest. Vegans and Muslims 
quickly realize that nothing is planned for them. They go on strike. A picker 
falls ill, a Doliprane is enough. After a few days, the harvest is over. When 
getting on the bus, they ask for their payslip and the money: all that will be 
sent to you in Spain, we answer them! They agree to leave.

Once in Spain, they find that the remuneration paid (they range from Ero238 to 
Ero732) does not correspond at all to what had been announced to them. They form 
a collective, then contact the CNT-AIT. A file is put together, letter to the 
labor inspectorate and to the employer, MHCS; response from the latter: 
everything was done according to the rules, the performance of the team was much 
lower than that of the other teams, the wages paid correspond to the minimum 
minimum wage, etc.

After analysis of the file, and given the low financial stakes, only the path of 
direct action seems reasonable to us: Moët et Chandon is a subsidiary of Louis 
Vuiton, a few pickets in front of stores could be enough to make them let go... 
There, we quickly discover that the collective of workers has dissolved, no 
worker wants to engage in struggle. How do you defend people who don't want to fight?
Why this renunciation? Clearly, these workers, at first outraged by the way they 
had been treated, despite, at first, the formation of a collective, why did they 
have no will to fight? They were simply not aware of belonging to the working 
class, with all that that implies. They did not see the strength they 
represented, the power given by solidarity, mutual aid, the extraordinary means 
of action that direct action constitutes. All these things are, of course, not 
innate, they are learned and it is because the unions, whose essential task it 
is, have not done this educational work, that, from the first difficulties, they 
fled like a flock of sparrows. No wonder since the service unions repeat at will 
"let us represent you, we will defend your interests within the framework of the 
law, we take care of everything". This policy has developed in the working class 
a mentality of assisted people, the story of these grape pickers is once again 
proof of this.

http://cntaittoulouse.lautre.net/spip.php?article1291
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