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

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Indonesia (Ratification: 1950)

The Committee notes that no report has been received from the Government. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following matters:

1. Article 25 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to the discussions at the Conference Committee since 1979 concerning the free choice of work for contract labourers after expiration of their contracts. It noted information on Ministerial Decision No. 12/MEN/BP/84 of 24 January 1984 which provided for various protective measures for contract labourers in Sumatra, such as the obligation of the suppliers of plantation labour to bear all the transportation costs for returning workers to their homes, and it requested the Government to continue supplying information on the practical application of this Decision.

The Committee noted Ministerial Regulation No. KEP-883/MEN/1987 concerning Operational Guide-lines for Inter-Regions Employment and Regulation of the Director-General for Manpower Development and Placement No. KEP-2130/MEN/BP/1987 concerning Technical Guidance for Implementation of Inter-Regions Employment, copies of which have been supplied by the Government in its report. The Committee noted the indication in the Systematic Guide-lines for the Inter-Regions Employment annexed to the Ministerial Regulation, particularly in its Introduction, I,A, that the inter-regions employment (AKAD), until now, has not evolved as it had been anticipated and that simplification of the procedure is needed for the purpose of encouraging the scheme. The Committee also noted from Part IV on the procedure of labourers' repatriation that the labourers are to be persuaded to stay in the regions rather than going back to their places of origin. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the practical application of these Guide-lines, particularly in the light of the principle that AKAD workers should be free to decide upon expiration of their contracts whether to stay on or to go back to their original places, the principle which is provided for in the Ministerial Decision of 1984 referred to above.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information, more generally, on the measures taken to supervise the activities of labour contractors, to investigate allegations of forced labour and to ensure that all illegal exaction of work is strictly punished. It would appreciate information on the activities of the labour inspectorate in this regard.

2. The Committee noted Government Regulation No. 52 of 1958 on the Service Contract and Legal Status of Career Members of the Armed Forces, a copy of which was supplied with the Government's report received in 1988. The Committee noted that under article 19, paragraph 1(d), of the Regulation, a career member can resign from the service when he applies for it and when he obtains it. The Committee further noted that under article 22, paragraph 1, those who apply for resignation under article 19, paragraph 1(d) and (f), are obliged to reimburse the cost of whole or a part of the education they have obtained during their services. Under paragraph 2 of the same article, the amount of the reimbursement can be raised by a decision of the Minister of Defence. The Committee requests the Government to supply in its next report information on the practical application of articles 19 and 22, in particular on criteria applied in accepting the resignation. The Committee would also appreciate information on the length of a special service contract provided for under article 18 which applies to career members who obtain free education in or outside the country.