Illegal migrants working on Sting’s estate

Italian authorities are investigating after illegal immigrants were discovered working 15-hour days on Sting’s 900-acre Tuscan wine estate for as little as €4 an hour.

The allegations came to light as part of a much wider investigation by Italian police and prosecutors into the use of asylum seekers from Africa and Asia on estates in the northern Italian region.

Around 30 to 40 men, of African and Pakistani descent, are said to have worked 15 hour days labouring in olive groves and vineyards, but were paid as little as four euros an hour.

The men, who were waiting for asylum papers to be granted for the right to settle in Italy, were recruited by a company called Coli Spa, according to reports by The Telegraph. 

Eleven people are being investigated, with five now under house arrest, charged with commercial fraud, profiting from illegal labour and issuing false financial records. Prosecutors believe that Tuscan estates, including Sting’s, used the services of the company without knowing that the labourers it supplied were illegal.

Having discovered the illegality of workers on his estate, Sting saId he was “saddened and distressed” to learn that men had been working on his estate under such conditions.

“I am saddened and distressed to learn that an independent company leasing some of our fields may have been involved in questionable labour practices. I fully expect that Italian law will take its course and bring the matter to court.

“While this company has no affiliation with our own operation, perhaps as my name has appeared in the headline in the Italian papers, it will shine a necessary spotlight on unacceptable labour practices in the wine industry.”

Sting and his wife Trudie Styler bought the Tenuata il Pallagio estate in the Chianti region of Tuscany nearly 20 years ago. The estate produces four wines; Sister Moon, When We Dance, Message In a Bottle and Casino delle vie.

Tenuta il Palagio also produces honey and olive oil, and has hosted famous guests who pay US$7,000 for a seven-day stay in a villa on its grounds.