International farm worker conference in Cape Town The Ethical Wine Trade Campaign is holding a conference from February 23-25 in Cape Town, South Africa to bring together farm workers and activists from South Africa, Argentina, Chile, and Sweden. The conference aims to make the working conditions of farm workers visible and agree on strategies for the future. Representatives from various farm worker unions in South Africa, Argentina, Chile, and Sweden will attend along with six members of the Swedish parliament. The conference hopes to discuss how to achieve a more fair distribution of value in the wine industry so that farm workers receive better benefits.

1. Press release:
International farm worker conference in Cape Town
The Ethical Wine Trade Campaign is an international network supporting farm
worker demands for better working and living conditions in the value chain of
wine exported to the Nordic alcohol monopolies. February 23-25, it gathers
workers and activists from South Africa, Argentina, Chile and Sweden for a
conference in Cape Town. Six members of the Swedish parliament will also
attend the conference.
The recent strikes among farm workers in the Western Cape have raised numbers previously
unheard of, and has led to a raise in the minimum wage. But the struggle for fair and decent
working conditions have grown long before that. The Ethical Wine Trade Campaign is an
initiative by worker organisations in the wine industry supplying the five Nordic alcohol
monopolies.
The campaign has worked for a better code of conduct for the monopolies and for an
increased understanding of the conditions for workers. Last year, it released a report showing
that up to 77 percent of the value of the wine sold in Sweden remains in that country. Swedish
monopoly Systembolaget sold over 190 million litres of wine 2011 and 37 million, 20 percent,
of those from South Africa. Chilean wine covers 7 percent and Argentinian 3 percent. A more
fair distribution where workers accruing the value also reap the benefits is key for the
organisations behind the campaign.
Sonia Sagredo, seasonal worker from Chile is attending the conference representing
Sindicato Interempresa Temporeros Agrícolas, (Trade Union for Seasonal Workers) and the
organization Ranquil in Chile says:
- The most important part of the campaign is to make visible the conditions for workers on
wine farms all over the world. I hope that we during the conference can agree on strategies for
our future work.
Raimundo Laugero from UST-MNCI in Argentina adds that another key issue is food
sovereignity and the right to land.
- In Argentina, the expanding wine farms push indigenous people off the land and threaten
local smallholders.
The conference will gather representatives from: ANAMURI and Ranquil/ Sindicato
Interempresa Temporeros Agrícolas, Chile, MNCI/UST Mendoza, Argentina, Sikhula Sonke,
CSAAWU, SPP, South Africa, Afrikagrupperna, SAC, Afrikagrupperna, Sweden.
A previous international meeting of the campaign was held in Santiago de Chile in 2011 where
representatives from all five Nordic monopolies participated.
For more information, contact
Agnes Nygren Information Officer Afrikagrupperna +27 82 5507441
agnes.nygren@afrikagrupperna.se