Parliament probes modern slavery in Piedmont vineyards as Romanians earn €2 an hour
A parliamentary fact-finding mission visited Saluzzo, Cuneo and Asti after reports of Romanian seasonal workers living in squalid conditions and being paid only €2 per hour in the region’s vineyards.
Italian journalists reported that behind the celebrated wines of Piedmont’s UNESCO-listed landscapes, a hidden workforce of Romanian migrants is being exploited for as little as €2 an hour. Police in Grazzano Badoglio discovered 15 such workers living in substandard conditions, while a priest in Alba was threatened after denouncing the caporalato system that recruits labor outside legal channels. A parliamentary inquiry, chaired by deputy Chiara Gribaudo of the Partito Democratico, began a tour of Saluzzo, Cuneo and Asti to gauge the scale of illegal agricultural employment, which may approach 38% in the Turin province.
Union leaders Loredana Sasia and Lara Calvani described a mixed picture, noting better-structured recruitment in Saluzzo but “cooperatives without land” fostering dependence elsewhere. The commission also discussed a July-proposed law to strengthen protection for victims and called for reforms to the Bossi-Fini immigration framework.
Why it matters
It reveals severe labor abuse in a key EU agricultural sector, prompting calls for stronger protections and enforcement.
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