Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Peru (Ratification: 1960)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Peru (Ratification: 2021)

The Committee takes note of the report of the Government received in 2019 as well as the supplementary information provided in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020).

The Committee also notes the joint observations of the Autonomous Workers' Confederation of Peru (CATP); the Confederation of Workers of Peru (CTP); the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP); and the Single Confederation of Workers of Peru (CUT-Perú) transmitted by the Government with its supplementary information.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Impact of certain clauses in the model contract signed by teachers at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru on their freedom to leave their employment. The Committee previously noted the adoption by the Governing Body at its 329th Session (March 2017) of the recommendations made by the tripartite committee set up to examine the representation made under article 24 of the ILO Constitution by the CGTP alleging non-observance by Peru of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), concerning the effect of certain clauses in successive short-term contracts signed by a number of lecturers and the Pontifical Catholic University (the University). The clauses concerned provided that if, upon expiry of the employment contract, the employee has not completed the required academic duties, he/she shall undertake either to fulfil the outstanding duties at no additional cost to the University or to receive reduced social security contributions and, where these were insufficient, to repay any amounts due to the University. The Committee noted that the tripartite committee invited the Government to ensure that the competent authorities hold discussions with the University to examine the content of and the terms and conditions for the implementation of the model contracts signed between the University and the lecturers that it employs in order to avoid a situation where the repeated use of said clauses leads to an accumulation of debts that places workers in a situation of dependency affecting their freedom to terminate an employment relationship. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the University has been implementing several measures in order to avoid any accumulation of academic or research duties of lecturers, more particularly by: (i) strengthening the monitoring and follow-up system of the academic or research workload of lecturers; (ii) ensuring prior programming of academic workload for each lecturer; (iii) providing training programmes to lecturers to improve their methodology and enhance their skills; and (iv) implementing measures that do not economically harm lecturers. If, upon expiry of the employment contract, the lecturer has not completed the required duties without justification, his or her employment contract will not be renewed, without any financial discount or charge, while ensuring that the lecturer will receive full social security contributions. The Committee welcomes this information and requests the Government to continue to provide information on the content and impact of the measures implemented by the Pontifical Catholic University to avoid in practice any situation that would place workers of the University in a situation of dependency affecting their freedom to terminate an employment relationship.

2. Domestic work in conditions of forced labour. Regarding the measures taken to provide greater protection for women domestic workers from practices amounting to forced labour, the Committee previously noted the adoption of the Plan of Action to promote observance of the rights of domestic workers 2016–2017 and the setting-up of a register of domestic workers and their dependents to enable employers to register their employees online, thereby entitling them to medical benefits under the health insurance scheme. The Committee notes the Government’s detailed information on the activities undertaken in the framework of the Plan of Action, such as: (i) numerous publications, awareness-raising activities and training on domestic workers’ labour rights and legal assistance including for public servants and labour inspectors; (ii) several events aimed at promoting domestic workers’ unionization as well as the registration of domestic workers by employers; (iii) the adoption by the National Labour Inspection Supervisory Authority (SUNAFIL) of the Protocol No. 001-2017-SUNAFIL/INII to investigate on compliance with the obligations concerning domestic workers (Resolution No. 113-2017-SUNAFIL of 8 June 2017), including the oversight of employment agencies; and (iv) the certification of occupational skills for 542 domestic workers in 2016–2017. The Government adds that, since 2016, an online reporting system for cases of child labour and forced labour allows the registration of complaints, such information being sent to the Labour Inspection Directorate. It notes that the National Action Plan on human rights for 2018–2021, adopted by Supreme Decree No. 002-2018-JUS of 1 February 2018, again sets as specific strategic action the promotion of the registration of domestic workers. Welcoming Peru’s ratification on 26 November 2018 of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), the Committee notes the Government’s indication that several bills are under examination to amend the legislation on domestic workers. In that regard, the Committee notes that, in their joint observations, the CATP, CTP, CGTP and CUT-Perú indicate that Act No. 31047 on women and men domestic workers was promulgated on 1 October 2020. The Act recognizes labour rights, as well as right to social security and health and safety at work for domestic workers. The Committee notes that the trade unions add that the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion will be in charge of elaborating the necessary regulations for the implementation of the new Act, and that SUNAFIL will have to update its Inspection Protocol for Domestic Workers. In the trade unions’ views, one major obstacle will be ensuring labour inspectors’ access to the workplace which coincides with the employer's address, and is by nature inviolable.

The Committee further notes that, according to the 2017 national household survey on living conditions and poverty (ENAHO 2017, INEI), 92.4 per cent of domestic workers were in the informal sector, 40 per cent of them worked more than 48 hours per week and almost half of them received wages below the minimum vital wage. In its supplementary information, the Government specifies that, according to statistical data published by the National Institute of Statistics and Information Technology (INEI), in 2019, 30.6 per cent of domestic workers did not have any kind of health insurance and 82.8 per cent of them did not have pension insurance (ENAHO 2019).

The Committee takes due note of the measures taken by the Government to provide greater protection to women domestic workers and welcomes in this regard the promulgation of Act No. 31047 on women and men domestic workers. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of any specific regulations, actions or programmes adopted to raise domestic workers’ awareness of their rights, guarantee them adequate assistance and protection to enable them to report any exploitation of which they are victims to the competent authorities, enhance their registration by employers and strengthen inspections in this sector. It further requests the Government to provide information on the number of domestic workers that have been registered by employers, the number of inspections carried out in the domestic work sector and the nature of infringements observed, the number of forced labour cases detected or reported through the online reporting system, and the penalties imposed.

3. Trafficking in persons. Referring to its previous comments concerning the additional measures adopted to strengthen the legislative and institutional framework for combating trafficking in persons and protecting the victims of this offence, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of the National Plan against trafficking in persons for 2017–2021 (Supreme Decree No. 017-2017-IN) which sets forth four strategic objectives, namely: (i) prevention and awareness-raising; (ii) protection and reintegration of victims; (iii) monitoring and prosecution; and (iv) institutional governance. It notes more particularly that the Multi-sectoral Committee against trafficking in persons and illicit trafficking of migrants is responsible for the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the Plan at national, regional and local levels (section 4 of the Supreme Decree). In its supplementary information, the Government adds that the strategic objectives of the National Plan are being implemented by tasks forces of the Multi-sectoral Committee, which monitor the different sectors involved and the achievement of the targets set. The Committee however notes that, in their observations, the CATP, CTP, CGTP and CUT-Perú express concern about the lack of a monitoring and evaluation system to assess the impact of the actions already implemented, thus limiting their effectiveness.

Referring to its previous comments on the need to strengthen protection for victims of trafficking, the Committee notes that several instruments have been adopted to that end, namely:

• -the National Action Plan on human rights for 2018–2021 which provides for strategic actions aimed at enhancing the assistance and protection for victims of trafficking and illicit trafficking of migrants, their regularization and safe return, as well as the ratification of the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), and the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143);
• -Act No. 30925 of 5 April 2019 to enhance the establishment of temporary shelters for victims of trafficking by preferentially allocating to them the assets seized by justice. This Act also provides for the development by the Government of a multi-sectoral budget programme for the implementation and follow-up of policies on trafficking in persons;
• -Supreme Decree No. 009-2019-MIMP of 10 April 2019 approving the Guide for the development of an individualized reintegration plan for victims of trafficking which provides guidance on the actions and procedures to be followed by the different institutions involved in the protection of victims of this offence, to complement the Inter-sectoral Protocol for the prevention and suppression of trafficking in persons and for victim protection, assistance and reintegration (Supreme Decree No. 005-2016-IN). The Guide provides that such plans shall take into account the real needs and interests of the victims, be adapted to the specific characteristics of each case, provide access to health, education, work, security and legal services and be developed within a 30-calendar day period from the moment the person in question accepts the initiation of this process. In its supplementary information, the Government further indicates that the Inter-Sectoral Protocol is currently being reviewed by the Multi-sectoral Committee against trafficking in persons and illicit trafficking of migrants; and
• -Specific programmes and actions aiming at the reintegration of victims of trafficking into the labour market, including in determined regions such as Cusco and Puno.

The Government however indicates that a large number of victims of trafficking do not have access to protection programmes, mainly as a result of the insufficient number of available shelters and the lack of specialized shelters for victims of trafficking.

As regards the repression of trafficking in persons, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Public Prosecutor’s Office implemented several measures, in particular in collaboration with the ILO, to strengthen the inter-institutional cooperation and mechanisms for inspection and prosecution in order to ensure the detection, timely intervention and sanctioning of trafficking in persons. In its supplementary information, the Government indicates that, in November 2018, a police system for the investigation of trafficking in persons (SITRAP PNP1) was created, which is composed by the Directorate for the investigation of trafficking in persons and the illicit trafficking of migrants (DIRCTPTIM) and 24 specialized investigation units of the different regions. Concerning the operations conducted by the DIRCTPTIM, the Government states that more police officers are needed to carry out prevention and rescue operations throughout the country. In its supplementary information, it indicates that, from 2019 to July 2020: 192 operations were conducted by the DIRCTPTIM and 1,626 victims of trafficking were rescued. It adds that special prosecutors’ offices for trafficking in persons (FISTRAP) also face difficulties in the implementation of sections 153 and 153-A of the Penal Code criminalizing trafficking in persons, as a result of the lack of specialized judges in this area, which results in a confusion with other crimes and inappropriate sanctions. In its supplementary information, the Government indicates that the Public Prosecutor recently adopted two important instruments to ensure adequate investigation and prosecution of cases as well as protection of victims, by enhancing better inter-institutional coordination between the FISTRAP and the police force (the Protocol of the Public Prosecutor to assist victims of trafficking in persons and illicit trafficking of migrants (Resolution No. 1191-2019-MP-FN of 2 September 2019) and the Inter-institutional Operational Guide for the collaboration of prosecutors and the police in the investigation of the cases of trafficking in persons (Resolution No. 489-2020-MFN of 2 March 2020). The Committee notes that, according to the statistical information provided by the Government, from 2018 to May 2019, 255 cases of trafficking for labour exploitation purposes were detected and 77 convictions for trafficking in persons were issued.

The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to combat trafficking in persons and to provide information on the measures taken to prevention of trafficking in persons, protection of victims and prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, including in the framework of each of the four strategic objectives of the National Plan against trafficking in persons for 2017–2021. It also requests the Government to provide information on any assessment made of the impact of such measures by the Multi-sectoral Committee against trafficking in persons and illicit trafficking of migrants. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on steps taken to strengthen the human and financial capacities of the different institutions in charge of the investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons, as well as to enhance better coordination and collaboration between them at the national and regional levels. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of investigations carried out on cases of trafficking in persons, including by the DIRCTPTIM and the decentralized departments for the investigation of trafficking, court proceedings instituted and convictions issued on the basis of sections 153 and 153-A of the Penal Code, while specifying the potential difficulties faced by the various authorities involved in the prosecution of trafficking in persons.

Article 2(2)(c). Work exacted as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law. Community service. The Committee recalls that the Penal Code provides for a series of alternative penalties to imprisonment, including the performance of community service which may be applied as an autonomous sentence (when it is specifically associated with an offence) or as an alternative to a custodial sentence (when, in the view of the court, the penalty to be replaced is not greater than four years), and obliges the person concerned to perform work free of charge with various entities (sections 31 to 34 of the Penal Code and section 119 of the Code for the Implementation of Sentences). The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 4 of Legislative Decree No. 1191 of 22 August 2015 which introduced a new section 34.2 in the Penal Code, the penalty of community service may also be carried out in non-profit making private institutions for welfare or social purposes. It observes that the legislative provisions referred to above make no mention of the possibility for the convicted person to consent to or refuse the sentence of the performance of community services when applied as an alternative to a sentence of imprisonment. The Committee recalls that, where the performance of community service may be for the benefit of private institutions, such as charitable associations, the convicted person should be able to give formal consent to the performance of the work, and the conditions for its performance should be adequately managed and supervised to ensure that the work undertaken is effectively work of general interest and that the entities for which it is carried out are non-profit-making. Referring also to its 2020 direct request on the application of the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the penalty of community service may be imposed without the consent of the convicted person. It also requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the sentence of community service is applied, with an indication of the nature of the supervision carried out by the sentencing judge, the list of private entities authorized to receive persons convicted to this penalty, and examples of the work performed.