Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

The Committee has been requesting the Government since 1981 to supply information on the terms of service of career military personnel, in particular with regard to terms of enlistment and the conditions for resigning from active service.

The Committee noted the Government's statement in its report for the period ending 30 June 1987 that it considers the military service, being a voluntary one, not to be covered by the Convention. Referring to the explanations given in paragraphs 33, and 67 to 73 of its 1979 General Survey on the Abolition of Forced Labour, as well as to point 2 of its observation under the Convention, the Committee recalled that even where employment is originally the result of a freely concluded agreement, the worker's right to free choice of employment remains inalienable, so that he must have the possibility of leaving the service in peace time within a reasonable period.

In its report for the period ending June 1989, the Government added that military personnel, apart from being voluntary employees, do not fall within the definition of industrial workers and therefore are not covered by any labour law. The Committee observed that the protection of the Convention is not limited to industrial workers but extends to all persons.

The Government stated in its report for the period ending June 1990 that officers and other personnel employed in the armed forces received extensive training and the country could not afford to give them free option to leave the service. However release or discharge could be given if there existed a justified cause.

In its latest report the Government refers to the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 2(a), of the Convention which provides that the term forced or compulsory labour shall not include "any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military character". The Committee, referring again to paragraph 33 of its above-mentioned 1979 General Survey, recalls that the fact that compulsory military service is not covered by the Convention cannot be invoked to justify denying career servicemen the right to leave the service either at certain reasonable intervals or by giving notice of reasonable length.

Referring again to the explanations provided in paragraphs 55 to 62 and 67 to 73 of its 1979 General Survey on the Abolition of Forced Labour in which it examines the question of compulsory service linked to training received and restrictions on freedom of workers to terminate employment, the Committee once more requests the Government to provide information on the length of service of the different categories of career military personnel in relation to the length and the nature of training received and on any possibilities for them to leave the service in peacetime by reimbursing the expenses of their training. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide a copy of the corresponding provisions as well as more generally of the terms and regulations governing the terms of service in the armed forces, in particular regarding the terms of enlistment and the conditions for resigning from the service.