Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Türkiye (Ratification: 1998)

Article 2(2)(c). Work of prisoners for private entities. In previous comments, the Committee noted that section 20 of the Regulation on the Administration and Bidding of Penitentiaries and Work Centres of Detention Institutions of 2005 states that detainees may be asked to work, but shall not be obliged to do so. It noted that, pursuant to this Regulation and the Regulation on Administration of Penitentiaries and Execution of Sentences of 2006, prisoners’ conditions of work may be considered as approximating those of a free labour relationship. The Committee nonetheless observed that the legislation did not appear to require the free, informed and formal consent of prisoners to work for private enterprises. In response, the Government indicated that it was not possible to employ prisoners without their consent or without a request from the prisoner. The Government indicated that the Circular on Implementation of Work Centres No. 137/3 (published by the Supreme Council of Work Centres) determines the conditions of work of prisoners, both within and outside of prisons and that this Circular included a standard contract regulating a prisoner’s employment.

The Committee notes the copy of the Circular No. 137/3, submitted with the Government’s report, but observes that this Circular does not provide that a contract regulating a prisoner’s employment must be signed between the prisoner and the employer. Noting the Government’s previous indication that it is not possible to employ prisoners without their consent, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that a prisoner’s consent to work for private enterprises, either within or outside of prisons, is provided formally, and that such consent is informed, free from the menace of any penalty. In this regard, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide examples of signed contracts concluded between prisoners and employers.

Article 2(2)(d). Powers to call up labour in cases of emergency. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, under article 18 of the Constitution of Turkey, the term “forced labour” does not include services required from citizens during a state of emergency, which may be declared, under article 119 of the Constitution, in the event, among other things, of a “serious economic crisis”. It also noted that under the State of Emergency Act (No. 2935 of 1983), the Council of Ministers may issue decrees to determine obligations and measures to be taken in the event of serious economic crises, which may concern, inter alia, labour issues. In this regard, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that Turkey has experienced economic crises in the past but that no state of emergency was called. The states of emergency referred to in article 119 of the Constitution relate to conditions obstructing life in the country and, even under these conditions, this does not allow for the exaction of forced labour, as article 18 of the Constitution explicitly prohibits forced labour.

While noting the Government’s previous indications regarding the application of these provisions in practice, the Committee recalls that the notion of “serious economic crises” does not appear to satisfy the criteria for the exception of “emergency situations” in the strict sense of the term, described in Article 2(2)(d) (that is, to the events of war or of a calamity or threatened calamity). The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures in order to limit the exaction of compulsory work or service in cases of emergency to the strict minimum allowed by the Convention, in line with the current practice. Pending the adoption of such measures, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the State of Emergency Act (No. 2935 of 1983) and article 119 of the Constitution in practice.

Articles 2(2)(b) and (e). Minor communal services. The Committee previously noted that sections 12 and 13 of the Village Affairs Act, No. 442, of 18 March 1924, provided for “mandatory works for villagers”, and that failure to perform this work shall be penalized. It noted that some of the work listed in section 13 as “mandatory for villagers” (including building and repairing roads leading from the village to the government centre or neighbouring villages, or building bridges over such roads, etc.) did not seem to meet the criteria of “minor services” or “communal services”, and that there was no provision for consultation regarding these works or services. In this regard, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that the task of village administration has changed significantly since the enactment of the Village Affairs Act in 1924 and that a new draft Village Affairs Bill had been developed, taking into consideration the views of concerned parties.

Noting an absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee recalls that minor communal services may be excluded from the scope of the Convention only if certain criteria are met: (i) the services must be “minor services”, i.e. relating primarily to maintenance work and, in exceptional cases, to the erection of certain buildings intended to improve the social conditions of the population of the community itself; (ii) the services must be performed in the direct interest of the community and not relate to the execution of works intended to benefit a wider group; and (iii) the members of the community itself, i.e. the community which has to perform the services, or their “direct” representative (e.g. the village council) must have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services (General Survey of 2012, paragraph 281). The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Village Affairs Bill only permits minor communal services performed in the direct interest of the community, following consultation with the said community, in conformity with Article 2(2)(e) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the Village Affairs Bill, once it has been adopted.

Article 25. Penal sanctions for the exaction of forced or compulsory labour. The Committee previously requested information concerning the application in practice of section 117(2) of the Penal Code (prohibiting the employment of homeless, helpless or dependent persons without payment or for substandard wages or forcibly subjecting them to inhumane working and living conditions). In this regard, the Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that there were 26 cases opened pursuant to section 117(2) in 2011, and 141 such cases in 2012. The Government indicates that of the 34 verdicts passed down in 2011, there were zero convictions, and of the 45 such verdicts in 2012, there were eight convictions. Noting the significant increase in the number of offences recorded in 2012, as well as the relatively low rate of convictions, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of section 117(2) of the Penal Code, including information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions, as well as any difficulties encountered in applying this provision. It requests the Government to provide information on the specific penalties applied to those convicted.