Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - French Polynesia

The Committee notes that no report has been received from the Government. It must therefore repeat its previous observation on the following matters:

Article 2, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention. On several occasions the Committee has drawn the Government's attention to the provisions of section 81 of Decision No. 76-184 of 30 December 1976, under which persons sentenced to imprisonment, who are obliged to work by virtue of section 60 of this Decision, may be employed outside the prison establishment on behalf of private individuals under the responsibility and supervision of agents furnished by the employer and approved by the administration. The Committee noted in previous comments information supplied by the Government that the texts respecting the organisation and regulation of the prison system were being amended, and that sections 60 and 81 would be amended to bring them into conformity with the Convention. The Committee noted the Government's statement in its report received in 1987 that these provisions were to be included in a number of Decisions due to be adopted in 1987 under Act No. 86-845 of 17 July 1986 concerning the general principles of labour law. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to indicate in the near future the measures that have been taken to bring the provisions of sections 60 and 81 of Decision No. 76-184 into conformity with the Convention, either by forbidding the employment of prisoners by private individuals or by guaranteeing the normal conditions of a voluntarily accepted employment relationship, particularly with regard to formal consent, wages and social security.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.