Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2004, publiée 93ème session CIT (2005)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Over a number of years the Committee has been referring to sections 3 and 16 of the Destitute Persons Act, 1989 (which repeated without change certain provisions of the Destitute Persons Act, 1965), under which any destitute person may be required, subject to penal sanctions, to reside in a welfare home, and to section 13 of the same Act, under which any person resident in such a home may be required to engage in any suitable work for which the medical officer of the home certifies him to be capable, either with a view to fitting him for an employment outside the welfare home or with a view to contributing to his maintenance in the welfare home.

The Committee pointed out that the imposition of labour under the Destitute Persons Act, 1989, comes under the definition of "forced or compulsory labour" in Article 2(1) of the Convention, and that the Convention makes no exception for labour imposed "in the context of rehabilitation" of destitute persons.

The Committee has noted the Government’s repeated indications that section 13 of the Act should be interpreted in the context of rehabilitative services for destitute persons, and that, in practice, residents in the welfare home are not compelled to work and are only assigned chores after they have given their written consent, and also receive payment for their participation. The Government considers that, since residents are not forced to work, the provision in question does not violate the Convention.

While noting that the current practice under the Destitute Persons Act, 1989, which appears to be in conformity with the Convention, the Committee again draws the Government’s attention to the need to bring the legislative provisions into conformity with the Convention, so as to ensure compliance both in law and in practice. Recalling also that the question of work imposed on destitute persons has been the subject of comments since 1970, the Committee trusts that the necessary measures will at last be taken with a view to amending the wording of section 13 of the Act so as to provide clearly that any work in a welfare home is to be done voluntarily, thus bringing the abovementioned legislation into conformity with the Convention and the indicated practice. The Committee asks the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the progress made in this regard.