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ILO FORCED LABOUR CONVENTION



FOLLOWING IS THE TEXT OF ILO CONVENTION 29 ON FORCED LABOUR,
WHICH BURMA RATIFIED ON 4 MARCH 1955. 
 
THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY WHICH THE ILO ESTABLISHED ON 27
MARCH 1997 WILL INVESTIGATE MYANMAR'S OBSERVANCE OF THIS
CONVENTION. THE DECISION TO SET UP SUCH A COMMISSION OF
INQUIRY IS THE STRONGEST ACTION THE ILO CAN TAKE ON A COUNTRY,
AND IS VERY RARELY MADE. 
 
BURMA'S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS
CONVENTION HAS BEEN STRONGLY CONDEMNED BY THE ILO FOR SEVERAL
YEARS.
 
IN HIS STATEMENT TO THE ILO ON 12 JUNE 1997, SLORC'S MINISTER
FOR LABOUR STATED THAT "IT IS A FACT THAT MYANMAR HAS LIVED UP
TO ITS (SIC) STIPULATIONS OF THE ILO CONVENTIONS WHICH SHE HAS
RATIFIED. MY DELEGATION DEEPLY REGRETS THAT THE GOVERNING BODY
OF ILO HAD DECIDED TO FORM A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON MYANMAR
FOR NON-OBSERVANCE OF A RATIFIED CONVENTION." (For full text
of the Minister's statement, and that of the Myanmar workers'
delegate, see companion posting on reg.burma and
soc.cult.burma, "SLORC STATEMENTS TO ILO, JUNE 97")
 
                           ............
 
 
 
             ILO Forced Labour Convention 29 (1930) 
 
 
PREAMBLE
 
The General Conference of the International Labour
Organisation, 
 
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office, and having met in its Fourteenth
Session on 10 June 1930, and 
 
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with
regard to forced or compulsory labour, which IS included in
the first item on the agenda of the Session, and 
 
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of
an international Convention, 
 
adopts the twenty-eighth day of June of the year one thousand
nine hundred and thirty, the following Convention, which may
be cited as the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, for
ratification by the Members of the International Labour
Organisation in accordance with the provisions of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organisation: 
 
 
Article 1 
1. Each Member of the International Labour Organisation which
ratifies this Convention undertakes to suppress the use of
forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the
shortest possible period. 
 
2. With a view to this complete suppression, recourse to
forced or compulsory labour may be had, during the
transitional period, for public purposes only and as an
exceptional measure, subject to the conditions and guarantees
hereinafter provided.  
 
3. At the expiration of a period of five years after the
coming into force of this Convention, and when the Governing
Body of the International Labour Office prepares the report
provided for in Article 31 below, the said Governing Body
shall consider the possibility of the suppression of forced or
compulsory labour in all its forms without a further
transitional period and the desirability of placing this
question on the agenda of the Conference.  
 
Article 2 
1. For the purposes of this Convention the term "forced or
compulsory labour" shall mean all work or service which IS
exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and
for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily. 
 
2. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this Convention, the term 
"forced or compulsory labour" shall not include-- 
 (a) any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory
military service laws for work of a purely military character; 
 (b) any work or service which forms part of the normal civic
obligations of the citizens of a fully self-governing country; 
   any work or service exacted from any person as a
consequence of a conviction in a court of law, provided that
the said work or service IS carried out under the supervision
and control of a public authority and that the said person IS
not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals,
companies or associations; 
 (d) any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that
IS to say, in the event of war or of a calamity or threatened
calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent
epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by animal, insect or
vegetable pests, and in general any circumstance that would
endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part
of the population; 
 (e) minor communal services of a kind which, being performed
by the members of the community in the direct interest of the
said community, can therefore be considered as normal civic
obligations incumbent upon the members of the community,
provided that the members of the community or their direct
representatives shall have the right to be consulted in regard
to the need for such services. 
 
Article 3 
For the purposes of this Convention the term "competent
authority" shall mean either an authority of the metropolitan
country or the highest central authority in the territory
concerned. 
 
Article 4 
1. The competent authority shall not impose or permit the
imposition of forced or compulsory labour for the benefit of
private individuals, companies or associations. 
 
2. Where such forced or compulsory labour for the benefit of
private individuals, companies or associations exists at the
date on which a Member's ratification of this Convention IS
registered by the Director-General of the International Labour
Office, the Member shall completely suppress such forced or
compulsory labour from the date on which this Convention comes
into force for that Member. 
 
Article 5 
1. No concession granted to private individuals, companies or
associations shall involve any form of forced or compulsory
labour for the production or the collection of products which
such private individuals, companies or associations utilise or
in which they trade. 
 
2. Where concessions exist containing provisions involving
such forced or compulsory labour, such provisions shall be
rescinded as soon as possible, in order to comply with Article
1 of this Convention. 
 
Article 6 
Officials of the administration, even when they have the duty
of encouraging the populations under their charge to engage in
some form of labour, shall not put constraint upon the said
populations or upon any individual members thereof to work for
private individuals, companies or associations.  
 
Article 7 
1. Chiefs who do not exercise administrative functions shall
not have recourse to forced or compulsory labour. 
 
2. Chiefs who exercise administrative functions may, with the
express permission of the competent authority, have recourse
to forced or compulsory labour, subject to the provisions of
Article 10 of this Convention. 
 
3. Chiefs who are duly recognised and who do not receive
adequate remuneration in other forms may have the enjoyment of
personal services, subject to due regulation and provided that
all necessary measures are taken to prevent abuses. 
 
Article 8 
1. The responsibility for every decision to have recourse to
forced or compulsory labour shall rest with the highest civil
authority in the territory concerned. 
 
2. Nevertheless, that authority may delegate powers to the
highest local authorities to exact forced or compulsory labour
which does not involve the removal of the workers from their
place of habitual residence. That authority may also delegate,
for such periods and subject to such conditions as may be
laid down in the regulations provided for in Article 23 of
this Convention, powers to the highest local authorities to
exact forced or compulsory labour which involves the removal
of the workers from their place of habitual residence for the
purpose of facilitating the movement of officials of the
administration, when on duty, and for the transport of
Government stores. 
 
Article 9 
Except as otherwise provided for in Article 10 of this
Convention, any authority competent to exact forced or
compulsory labour shall, before deciding to have recourse to
such labour, satisfy itself-- 
 (a) that the work to be done or the service to be rendered IS
of important direct interest for the community called upon to
do work or render the service; 
 (b) that the work or service IS of present or imminent
necessity; 
   that it has been impossible to obtain voluntary labour for
carrying out the work or rendering the service by the offer of
rates of wages and conditions of labour not less favourable
than those prevailing in the area concerned for similar work
or service; and 
 (d) that the work or service will not lay too heavy a burden
upon the present population, having regard to the labour
available and its capacity to undertake the work. 
 
Article 10 
1. Forced or compulsory labour exacted as a tax and forced or
compulsory labour to which recourse IS had for the execution
of public works by chiefs who exercise administrative
functions shall be progressively abolished. 
 
2. Meanwhile, where forced or compulsory labour IS exacted as
a tax, and where recourse IS had to forced or compulsory
labour for the execution of public works by chiefs who
exercise administrative functions, the authority concerned
shall first satisfy itself-- 
 (a) that the work to be done or the service to be rendered IS
of important direct interest for the community called upon to
do the work or render the service; 
 (b) that the work or the service IS of present or imminent
necessity;  
   that the work or service will not lay too heavy a burden
upon the present population, having regard to the labour
available and its capacity to undertake the work; 
 (d) that the work or service will not entail the removal of
the workers from their place of habitual residence; 
 (e) that the execution of the work or the rendering of the
service will be directed in accordance with the exigencies of
religion, social life and agriculture. 
 
Article 11 
1. Only adult able-bodied males who are of an apparent age of
not less than 18 and not more than 45 years may be called upon
for forced or compulsory labour. Except in respect of the
kinds of labour provided for in Article 10 of this Convention,
the following limitations and conditions shall apply: 
 (a) whenever possible prior determination by a medical
officer appointed by the administration that the persons
concerned are not suffering from any infectious or contagious
disease and that they are physically fit for the work required
and for the conditions under which it IS to be carried out; 
 (b) exemption of school teachers and pupils and officials of
the administration in general; 
   the maintenance in each community of the number of adult
able-bodied men indispensable for family and social life; 
 (d) respect for conjugal and family ties.  
 
2. For the purposes of subparagraph   of the preceding
paragraph, the regulations provided for in Article 23 of this
Convention shall fix the proportion of the resident adult
able-bodied males who may be taken at any one time for forced
or compulsory labour, provided always that this proportion
shall in no case exceed 25 per cent. In fixing this proportion
the competent authority shall take account of the density of
the population, of its social and physical development, of the
seasons, and of the work which must be done by the persons
concerned on their own behalf in their locality, and,
generally, shall have regard to the economic and social
necessities of the normal life of the community concerned. 
 
Article 12 
1. The maximum period for which any person may be taken for
forced or compulsory labour of all kinds in any one period of
twelve months shall not exceed sixty days, including the time
spent in going to and from the place of work. 
 
2. Every person from whom forced or compulsory labour IS
exacted shall be furnished with a certificate indicating the
periods of such labour which he has completed. 
 
Article 13 
1. The normal working hours of any person from whom forced or
compulsory labour IS exacted shall be the same as those
prevailing in the case of voluntary labour, and the hours
worked in excess of the normal working hours shall be
remunerated at the rates prevailing in the case of overtime
for voluntary labour. 
 
2. A weekly day of rest shall be granted to all persons from
whom forced or compulsory labour of any kind IS exacted and
this day shall coincide as far as possible with the day fixed
by tradition or custom in the territories or regions
concerned. 
 
Article 14 
1. With the exception of the forced or compulsory labour
provided for in Article 10 of this Convention, forced or
compulsory labour of all kinds shall be remunerated in cash at
rates not less than those prevailing for similar kinds of work
either in the district in which the labour IS employed or in
the district from which the labour IS recruited, whichever may
be the higher.  
 
2. In the case of labour to which recourse IS had by chiefs in
the exercise of their administrative functions, payment of
wages in accordance with the provisions of the preceding
paragraph shall be introduced as soon as possible. 
 
3. The wages shall be paid to each worker individually and not
to his tribal chief or to any other authority. 
 
4. For the purpose of payment of wages the days spent in
travelling to and from the place of work shall be counted as
working days. 
 
5. Nothing in this Article shall prevent ordinary rations
being given as a part of wages, such rations to be at least
equivalent in value to the money payment they are taken to
represent, but deductions from wages shall not be made either
for the payment of taxes or for special food, clothing or
accommodation supplied to a worker for the purpose of
maintaining him in a fit condition to carry on his work under
the special conditions of any employment, or for the supply of
tools. 
 
Article 15 
1. Any laws or regulations relating to workmen's compensation
for accidents or sickness arising out of the employment of the
worker and any laws or regulations providing compensation for
the dependants of deceased or incapacitated workers which are
or shall be in force in the territory concerned shall be
equally applicable to persons from whom forced or compulsory
labour IS exacted and to voluntary workers. 
 
2. In any case it shall be an obligation on any authority
employing any worker on forced or compulsory labour to ensure
the subsistence of any such worker who, by accident or
sickness arising out of his employment, IS rendered wholly
or partially incapable of providing for himself, and to take
measures to ensure the maintenance of any persons actually
dependent upon such a worker in the event of his incapacity or
decease arising out of his employment. 
 
Article 16 
1. Except in cases of special necessity, persons from whom
forced or compulsory labour IS exacted shall not be
transferred to districts where the food and climate differ so
considerably from those to which they have been accustomed as
to endanger their health. 
 
2. In no case shall the transfer of such workers be permitted
unless all measures relating to hygiene and accommodation
which are necessary to adapt such workers to the conditions
and to safeguard their health can be strictly applied. 
 
3. When such transfer cannot be avoided, measures of gradual
habituation to the new conditions of diet and of climate shall
be adopted on competent medical advice. 
 
4. In cases where such workers are required to perform regular
work to which they are not accustomed, measures shall be taken
to ensure their habituation to it, especially as regards
progressive training, the hours of work and the provision of
rest intervals, and any increase or amelioration of diet which
may be necessary. 
 
Article 17 
Before permitting recourse to forced or compulsory labour for
works of construction or maintenance which entail the workers
remaining at the workplaces for considerable periods, the
competent authority shall satisfy itself-- 
 (1) that all necessary measures are taken to safeguard the
health of the workers and to guarantee the necessary medical
care, and, in particular, (a) that the workers are medically
examined before commencing the work and at fixed intervals
during the period of service,  (b) that there IS an adequate
medical staff, provided with the dispensaries, infirmaries,
hospitals and equipment necessary to meet all requirements,
and   that the sanitary conditions of the workplaces, the
supply of drinking water, food, fuel, and cooking utensils,
and, where necessary, of housing and clothing, are
satisfactory; 
 (2) that definite arrangements are made to ensure the
subsistence of the families of the workers, in particular by
facilitating the remittance, by a safe method, of part of the
wages to the family, at the request or with the consent of the
workers; 
 (3) that the journeys of the workers to and from the work-
places are made at the expense and under the responsibility of
the administration, which shall facilitate such journeys by
making the fullest use of all available means of transport; 
 (4) that, in case of illness or accident causing incapacity
to work of a certain duration, the worker IS repatriated at
the expense of the administration; 
 (5) that any worker who may wish to remain as a voluntary
worker at the end of his period of forced or compulsory labour
IS permitted to do so without, for a period of two years,
losing his right to repatriation free of expense to himself. 
 
Article 18 
1. Forced or compulsory labour for the transport of persons or
goods, such as the labour of porters or boatmen, shall be
abolished within the shortest possible period. Meanwhile the
competent authority shall promulgate regulations determining,
inter alia, (a) that such labour shall only be employed for
the purpose of facilitating the movement of officials of the
administration, when on duty, or for the transport of
Government stores, or, in cases of very urgent necessity, the
transport of persons other than officials, (b) that the
workers so employed shall be medically certified to be
physically fit, where medical examination IS possible, and
that where such medical examination IS not practicable the
person employing such workers shall be held responsible for
ensuring that they are physically fit and not suffering from
any infectious or contagious disease,   the maximum load
which these workers may carry, (d) the maximum distance from
their homes to which they may be taken, (e) the maximum number
of days per month or other period for which they may be taken,
including the days spent in returning to their homes, and (f)
the persons entitled to demand this form of forced or
compulsory labour and the extent to which they are entitled to
demand it. 
 
2. In fixing the maxima referred to under (c), (d) and  (e) in
the foregoing paragraph, the competent authority shall have
regard to all relevant factors, including the physical
development of the population from which the workers are
recruited, the nature of the country through which they must
travel and the climatic conditions. 
 
3. The competent authority shall further provide that the
normal daily journey of such workers shall not exceed a
distance corresponding to an average working day of eight
hours, it being understood that account shall be taken not
only of the weight to be carried and the distance to be
covered, but also of the nature of the road, the season and
all other relevant factors,  and that, where hours of journey
in excess of the normal daily journey are exacted, they shall
be remunerated at rates higher than the normal rates.  
 
Article 19 
1. The competent authority shall only authorise recourse to
compulsory cultivation as a method of precaution against
famine or a deficiency of food supplies and always under the
condition that the food or produce shall remain the property
of the individuals or the community producing it. 
 
2. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as abrogating
the obligation on members of a community, where production IS
organised on a communal basis by virtue of law or custom and
where the produce or any profit accruing from the sale thereof
remain the property of the community, to perform the work
demanded by the community by virtue of law or custom. 
 
Article 20 
Collective punishment laws under which a community may be
punished for crimes committed by any of its members shall not
contain provisions for forced or compulsory labour by the
community as one of the methods of punishment.  
 
Article 21 
Forced or compulsory labour shall not be used for work
underground in mines.  
 
Article 22 
The annual reports that Members which ratify this Convention
agree to make to the International Labour Office, pursuant to
the provisions of article 22 of the Constitution of the
International Labour Organisation, on the measures they have
taken to give effect to the provisions of this Convention,
shall contain as full information as possible, in respect of
each territory concerned, regarding the extent to which
recourse has been had to forced or compulsory labour in that
territory, the purposes for which it has been employed, the
sickness and death rates, hours of work, methods of payment of
wages and rates of wages, and any other relevant information. 
 
Article 23 
1. To give effect to the provisions of this Convention the
competent authority shall issue complete and precise
regulations governing the use of forced or compulsory labour. 
 
2. These regulations shall contain, inter alia, rules
permitting any person from whom forced or compulsory labour IS
exacted to forward all complaints relative to the conditions
of labour to the authorities and ensuring that such complaints
will be examined and taken into consideration. 
 
Article 24 
Adequate measures shall in all cases be taken to ensure that
the regulations governing the employment of forced or
compulsory labour are strictly applied, either by extending
the duties of any existing labour inspectorate which has
been established for the inspection of voluntary labour to
cover the inspection of forced or compulsory labour or in some
other appropriate manner. Measures shall also be taken to
ensure that the regulations are brought to the knowledge of
persons from whom such labour IS exacted. 
 
Article 25 
The illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be
punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation
on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the
penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly
enforced. 
 
Article 26 
1. Each Member of the International Labour Organisation which
ratifies this Convention undertakes to apply it to the
territories placed under its sovereignty, jurisdiction,
protection, suzerainty, tutelage or authority, so far as it
has the right to accept obligations affecting matters of
internal jurisdiction; provided that, if such Member may
desire to take advantage of the provisions of article 35 of
the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, it
shall append to its ratification a declaration stating-- 
 
 (1) the territories to which it intends to apply the
provisions of this Convention without modification; 
 (2) the territories to which it intends to apply the
provisions of this Convention with modifications, together
with details of the said modifications; 
 (3) the territories in respect of which it reserves its
decision. 
 
2. The aforesaid declaration shall be deemed to be an integral
part of the ratification and shall have the force of
ratification. It shall be open to any Member, by a subsequent
declaration, to cancel in whole or in part the reservations
made, in pursuance of the provisions of subparagraphs (2) and
(3) of this Article, in the original declaration. 
 
FINAL
 
Article 27 
 
The formal ratifications of this Convention under the
conditions set forth in the Constitution of the International
Labour Organisation shall be communicated to the
Director-General of the International Labour Office for
Registration.  
 
Article 28 
 
   1.  This Convention shall be binding only upon those
Members whose ratifications have been registered with the
International Labour Office. 
 
   2.  It shall come into force twelve months after the date
on which the ratifications of two members of the International
Labour Organisation have been registered with the Director-
General. 
 
   3.  Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for
any Member twelve months after the date on which its
ratification has been registered.  
 
Article 29 
 
   As soon as the ratifications of two Members of the
International Labour Organisation have been registered with
the International Labour Office, the Director-General of the
International Labour Office shall so notify all the Members of
the International Labour Organisation. He shall likewise
notify them of the registration of ratifications which may be
communicated subsequently by other Members of the
Organisation. 
 
Article 30 
 
   1.  A Member which has ratified this Convention may
denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on
which the Convention first comes into force, by an Act
communicated to the Director-General of the International
Labour Office for registration.  Such denunciation shall not
take effect until one year after the date on which it IS
registered with the International Labour Office. 
 
   2.  Each member which has ratified this Convention and
which does not, within the year following the expiration of
the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph,
exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this
Article, will be bound for another period of five years and,
thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of
each period of five years under the terms provided for in this
Article. 
 
Article 31 
 
   At the expiration of each period of five years after the
coming into force of this Convention, the Governing Body of
the International Labour Office shall present to the General
Conference a report on the working of this Convention and
shall consider the desirability of placing on the agenda of
the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in
part. 
 
Article 32 
 
   1.  Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising
this Convention in whole or in part, the ratification by a
Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve
denunciation of this Convention without any requirement of
delay, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 30 above, if
and when the new revising Convention shall have come into
force.  
 
   2.  As from the date of the coming into force of the new
revising Convention, the present Convention shall cease to be
open to ratification by the Members. 
 
   3.  Nevertheless, this Convention shall remain in force in
its actual form and content for those Members which have
ratified it but have not ratified the revising convention. 
 
Article 33 
 
   The French and English texts of this Convention shall both
be authentic.   
                                 
                       ...................