Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

The Committee has noted with interest the information provided by the Government in its first and second reports on the application of the Convention. It would be grateful if the Government would supply, with its next report, copies of the following legislation: the Criminal Law Amendment Act; the Military, Air and Naval Forces Acts, as well as other Acts governing disciplined forces; the Emergency Powers Act and any other provisions concerning a state of emergency. The Committee also requests the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. The Committee has noted that, under the Vagrancy Act (Cap. 10:25), any person who has no settled or fixed place of abode or means of support and who wanders from place to place, is considered a vagrant and may be arrested by a police officer without warrant and taken before a magistrate, and subsequently detained in a re-establishment centre, in consequence of the magistrate’s order (sections 2, 3, 7 and 8 of the Act). The Committee refers to paragraphs 45 to 48 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, in which it has considered that provisions relating to vagrancy and similar offences that were intended to protect society against disturbances of public order and tranquillity by persons who not only habitually refuse to work but are also without any legal means of subsistence are compatible with the Convention, but penalties imposed or liable to be imposed on those who merely refuse to take an employment are contrary to the Convention, which prohibits recourse to the menace of any penalty as a means of compulsion to work. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the application of the abovementioned provisions in practice, including copies of any court decisions defining or illustrating its scope, so as to enable the Committee to ascertain whether these provisions are applied in a manner compatible with the Convention.

2. The Committee has noted that section 14(2)(d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe excludes from the definition of "forced labour" any labour required by way of "parental discipline", which, according to section 26(1) of the Constitution, includes school or other "quasi-parental discipline". The Committee requests the Government to clarify the meaning of "other quasi-parental discipline" and to describe what kind of labour may be exacted under this exception.

Article 2(2)(a). 3. The Committee has noted that, under section 14(2)(c) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the expression "forced labour" does not include any labour required of a member of a disciplined force in pursuance of his duties as such or any labour required of any person by virtue of a written law in place of service as a member of such force. It requests the Government to indicate what guarantees are provided to ensure that services exacted for military purposes are used for purely military ends. Please also supply a copy of the law governing the exaction of labour required in place of service in a disciplined force referred to in the above section of the Constitution. Please indicate any provisions applicable to military officers and other career military servicemen, as regards their right to leave the service, in time of peace, at their own request, either at certain reasonable intervals or by means of notice of reasonable length.

Article 2(2)(c). 4. The Committee has noted from section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution that the expression "forced labour" does not include any labour required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court. The Committee recalls that, according to Article 2(2)(c), work can only be exacted from a person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law. It refers to the explanations in paragraph 94 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, in which it pointed out that this provision aims at ensuring that penal labour will not be imposed unless the guarantees laid down in the general principles of law recognized by the community of nations are observed, such as the presumption of innocence, equality before the law, regularity and impartiality of proceedings, independence and impartiality of courts, guarantees necessary for defence, clear definition of the offence and non-retroactivity of penal law. The Committee requests the Government to clarify the meaning and the scope of an "order of a court" (as opposed to a sentence in criminal proceedings), under which the exaction of forced labour may be required, supplying sample copies of relevant orders, and to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to ensure the observance of the Convention on this point.

5. The Committee has noted from section 76 of the Prisons Act (Cap. 7:11) that prisoners may be kept to labour within or outside the precincts of any prison and in any employment that may be approved by the Minister. It has also noted that, under section 71 of the Prisons (General) Regulations, 1996, no prisoner shall be employed for the private benefit of any person, except on the order of the Commissioner. The Committee requests the Government to clarify the scope of this provision, indicating in what circumstances the employment of prisoners for the benefit of private persons may be allowed by the Commissioner and supplying information on its application in practice.

Article 2(2)(e). 6. The Committee has noted the Government’s indication in its 2002 report that minor communal services are applicable in the Zimbabwean community. Please describe such services, indicating, in particular, the manner in which the members of the community or their direct representatives are consulted in regard to the need for such services, and supply copies of relevant provisions.

Article 25. 7. The Committee has noted the Government’s indication in its first report that the exaction of forced labour is a criminal offence punishable with criminal sanctions. Please indicate the relevant penal provisions and supply copies thereof, as well as information on their application in practice.

8. The Committee has also noted that Clause 5 of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, 1999, contains a provision to be inserted as new section 4A of the Labour Relations Act (Cap. 28:01) which seeks to prohibit forced labour and to punish the contravention of this prohibition with a fine or imprisonment. Please indicate whether the above Bill has been adopted, and if so, supply a copy of the new Act.