Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

1. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to: - Legislative Decree No. 62-17 of 15 August 1962, under which any male person who without just cause refuses to work may be directed to rehabilitation through work on state worksites; - Act No. 78-22 of 8 March 1978 to establish civic service, under which any Tunisian between 18 and 30 years of age who cannot show that he has a job or is registered in an educational or vocational training establishment may be assigned, for one year or longer, to economic and social projects or rural or urban development projects, under penalty of compulsory rehabilitation through work in the event of refusal or desertion.

The Committee notes the Government's statement that the harmonisation of the above texts with the Convention is the subject of an examination by an interdepartmental commission set up in June 1989.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the progress of this work. It hopes that the Government will soon report the measures that have been taken or are envisaged to amend the above texts in order to bring them into conformity with the Convention.

2. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under the provisions of Act No. 86-27 of 2 May 1986, conscripts can be assigned to development units in the administration or in enterprises, and that under the terms of implementing Decree No. 87-1014 of 2 August 1987, they are subject to military conditions of service.

The Committee noted that following a basic military training and once the requirements of the units in the armed forces have been satisfied, by virtue of section 3 of Act No. 89-51, which repealed Act. No. 86-27 of 1986 without changing the substance of the provisions in question, conscripts may be assigned collectively to the internal security forces and to development units, or individually to the public administration, to enterprises or to technical cooperation activities. Citizens who are not subject to national service obligations may be called up individually as civilian conscripts, except in cases of absolute physical incapacity, to be employed in cases of necessity in the administrative, economic, social and cultural services.

The Committee notes the Government's statement in its report that Act No. 89-51 is not repressive and that it contains regulations governing an obligation deriving from section 15 of the Constitution of 1959, under which "the defence of the country and the integrity of its territory is a sacred duty of every citizen".

It also notes that, according to the Government, collective assignment to internal security forces and development units is justified because the internal security forces are an integral part of the armed forces and, moreover, the Minister of National Defence is responsible for participating in the construction of roads and infrastructure, particularly in regions that are isolated or of difficult access.

In its report, the Government also explains that individual assignment to the administration, to enterprises or to technical cooperation activities is carried out on a voluntary basis, and conscripts are made available to these institutions by order of the Minister of National Defence after having completed a period of military training. Such assignments are made on the grounds of economic reasons and national interest and the intention is to prevent the obligation to perform national service from depriving administrative departments and large enterprises from the managerial staff and technicians who are necessary for the effective functioning of these services, which are vital for the development of the country.

The Government states that military personnel who are detached are remunerated in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 1232 of 1 August 1990, fixing the procedures for the detachment of national service conscripts to perform their service outside the units of the armed forces and the conditions governing their remuneration.

The Committee notes that Decree No. 1232 of 1 August 1990 includes the following provisions: - state services, public local communities, state establishments and private enterprises shall make their needs in terms of managerial and specialised staff known to the Minister of National Defence (section 2); - conscripts shall be made available to the above institutions by order of the Minister of National Defence, who may at any moment bring their assignment to an end; in such cases, for the remaining period the conscripts are transferred to one of the units of the army (section 6); - conscripts who are individually assigned to the administration or to enterprises receive from the Ministry of National Defence by way of remuneration a sum that is fixed according to their grade (section 8); - the employer pays each month to the National Service Fund the remuneration that is due to the individually assigned conscripts arising out of their employment, after deducting social contributions (section 10).

The Committee points out that the scope of the Convention includes military service, except for work of a purely military character (Article 2, paragraph 2(a), of the Convention). Work exacted from recruits within the framework of national service, including work related to the development of the country, is not of such a purely military character. Furthermore, the Committee points out that Article 1(b) of the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), which has also been ratified, specifically prohibits the use of compulsory labour for purposes of economic development.

The Committee is bound to refer in this connection to paragraphs 24 to 33 and 49 to 62 of its 1979 General Survey on the Abolition of Forced Labour in which it examined obligations flowing from the Conventions in this respect and described the problems arising from the use of recruits for non-military purposes. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure the observance of the Convention in this respect.