Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

1. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, under section 2 of the Labour Code, civic legal obligations which are of public interest are not considered to be forced or compulsory labour. It requested the Government to provide information on the nature of these obligations and the corresponding texts.

In its last report, the Government indicates that the civic legal obligations which are of public interest consist of community development work, such as the rehabilitation of economic and social infrastructure, but it does not provide the corresponding laws and regulations. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide copies of the above texts so that it can assess their conformity with the Conventions on forced labour.

2. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to Decree No. 100/003 of 3 January 1990 and Presidential Decrees Nos. 1/106 of 25 October 1967 (section 43) and 1/111 of 10 November 1967 (section 44) respecting the conditions governing the resignation of certain persons in the service of the State (recipients of fellowships and trainees, and officers in the armed forces, respectively). The Committee hoped that the legislative work which was under way would make it possible to set out in law the right of persons in the service of the State to leave their employment at their own initiative within a reasonable period, or with prior notice, and that persons who have received a fellowship or are undergoing training at the expense of the State may leave the service within a reasonable period which is proportional to the duration of the training received, or following reimbursement of the expenditure incurred by the State.

The Committee notes the Government's statement in its latest report that the crisis experienced by the country has prevented the adoption of new texts. It hopes that the Government will be in a position to report the measures taken to give statutory effect to the freedom to leave the service.

3. With reference to its general observation on the Convention in its report in 1999, the Committee requests the Government to provide information as to the present position in law and practice as regards the following points:

(i) whether there are prisons administered by private concerns, profit-making or otherwise;

(ii) whether any private prison contractors deploy prisoners to work either inside or outside prison premises, either for the account of the contractor or for that of another enterprise;

(iii) whether private parties are admitted by the prison authorities into prison premises of any kind for the purpose of engaging prisoners in employment;

(iv) whether employment of prisoners outside prison premises, either for a public authority or for a private enterprise, is allowed;

(v) the conditions in which employment under any of the above conditions takes place, in respect of remuneration (indicating the level and comparing it with minimum wage normally applicable to such work), benefits accruing (such as pension rights and workers' compensation), observance of occupational safety and health legislation and other conditions of employment (e.g. through labour inspection), and how those conditions are determined;

(vi) what the source of any remuneration is (whether from public or private funds) and for what purposes it must or may be applied (e.g. for the personal use of the prisoner or if it is subject to compulsory deductions);

(vii) for whose benefit is the product of prisoners' work and any surplus profit deriving from it, after deduction of overheads, and how it is disbursed;

(viii) how the consent of the prisoners concerned is guaranteed, so that it is free from the menace of any penalty, including any loss of privileges or other disadvantages following from a refusal to work.