Wine

Pressure mounts on Marlborough vineyards to play fair with workers.

Pressure mounts on Marlborough vineyards to play fair with workers.

The last thing consumers want to do is sit down with their bottle of wine and think of slave labour in New Zealand,” says Aaron Jay.

Jay, the managing director of Hortus, a Blenheim-based supplier of contract viticultural services, was responding to last year’s revelations that shoddy contractors were exploiting seasonal vineyard workers, potentially endangering Marlborough’s international wine reputation.

More than 50 million vines were pruned in Marlborough last winter by 1670 permanent and 3570 temporary staff. A further 3000 people have been involved in seasonal work during summer and the current harvest. Marlborough, with just 1% of the population but producing twothirds of the country’s wine, simply can’t cope by itself with the labour demands.

When the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme first brought teams of Pasifika workers to Marlborough a decade ago, community constable Russell Smith fielded questions “about these ‘scary dark men’ hanging around in groups on the streets of Blenheim”. But previously, according to local industry magazine Winepress, wine producers had struggled with labour shortages and “cowboy” contractors had thumbed their noses at labour laws.

RSE-accredited contractors provide security to vineyard owners and wine producers, because their employment law compliance is audited. Theyservice 80-85% of the region’s vineyards.

“Outside that, there are thousands of backpackers employed by contractors to get the work done,” says one viticultural expert. “Their story is at times quite shocking …”

Last August, a joint Marlborough vineyard operation, involving the Labour Inspectorate, Immigration New Zealand and Inland Revenue, found two independent, non

RSE contractors were breaching minimum-wage, holiday-pay and record-keeping requirements – and seven others were ordered to supply more records.

Pressure has been building on the wineries themselves, since vineyard owners are responsible for ensuring their labour-supply contractors meet legal obligations. The local winegrowers recently formed a working group to focus on the issue, recognising that the area of bearing vines is set to expand by nearly a quarter in the next four years.

Purpose-built accommodation for seasonal workers is already in short supply, but by 2021, about 200 extra houses and 1000 extra beds will be needed.