Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Romania (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and the discussions held in the Conference Committee in 1990.

1. The Committee notes with satisfaction that Act No. 5/1978, respecting the organisation and operation of state socialist units, as amended by Act No. 24/1981, was repealed by section 58 of Act No. 15, of 7 August 1990, on the reorganisation of state economic units into independent boards and commercial firms. Under the terms of section 57 of Act No. 15/1990, the repeal comes into force six months after the date of publication of the Act in the Official Journal (and nine months after that date for agricultural units). The Act was published on 8 August 1990. The Committee recalls that its comments concerned section 71(8) of Act No. 5/1978, as amended, under which any worker who leaves a unit for another is obliged to apply to the executive organ and the trade union body of the unit he is leaving for a report on his activities.

2. The Committee also notes with interest the information supplied by the Government concerning the repeal of a number of legislative provisions, the practical application of which resulted in obligations to work that were contrary to the Convention.

(a) Decree No. 54/1975 concerning the assignment to work of graduates from higher learning institutions has been repealed by Legislative Decree No. 14 of 10 January 1990. The Government states in its report that under Decree No. 54/1975, every graduate was on trial for either two or three years in the enterprise indicated in the assignment document, under penalty, if this period was not completed, of being excluded from employment that corresponded to the graduate's qualifications and of being obliged to repay the cost of their studies. The Government indicates that the new assignment system introduced by Legislative Decree No. 14/1990 is optional for the graduates, and binding for the enterprise mentioned in the assignment document.

(b) Act No. 22/1981 on the assignation of managerial staff to specific sectors of activity in certain zones has been repealed by Legislative Decree No. 1 of 26 December 1989 to repeal certain acts, decrees and other statutory instruments.

(c) Decree No. 9/1983 respecting work for the national economy by soldiers and retired career military personnel has been repealed by Legislative Decree No. 22 of 22 January 1990. Act No. 1/1985 concerning self-management, economic and financial self-administration at county level, which imposed labour under penalty of fines in the event of refusal to comply has been repealed. The Committee requests the Government to supply copies of the provisions repealing the above Decree and Act.

3. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to section 1(d) of Decree No. 153, of 24 March 1970, under which categories of persons with a parasitic or anarchical way of life, are punishable with penal sanctions. The Committee notes the Government's statement in its report that the provisions of this Decree have not been applied since December 1989 and will be repealed.

The Committee notes the Report submitted to the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations at its 47th Session (February 1991) by a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Romania (Document E/CN.4/1991/30, of 8 January 1991). The Report indicates that arrests, charges, and convictions were made in 1990 under the terms of Decree No. 153/1970, whose improper use against political opponents under the former regime had been criticised and which the present authorities reportedly proposed to abolish. Members of the rom (gypsy) community have reportedly been tried in accordance with the emergency procedure provided for in the Decree.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures that have been taken or are envisaged to repeal the Decree at issue and ensure that the Convention is observed in this respect in both law and practice.

4. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to Act No. 24/1976, which makes it compulsory for persons without employment to register with the Directorate of Labour or its regional offices, with a view to being placed in employment, and to Act No. 25/1976, under which any decision concerning assignment to a workplace was compulsory. Having noted the repeal of Act No. 25/1976, the Committee had asked the Government to supply information on the application in practice of Act No. 24/1976.

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report that the provisions of Act No. 24/1976, although remaining in force, are not applied and will be totally or partially repealed when the Bill respecting unemployment benefit and the reinsertion of the unemployed has been adopted. Furthermore, according to the Government, contracts should only be concluded under the current legislation after a competition to assess the vocational qualifications of the candidates, thereby limiting the scope of the provisions of Act No. 24/1976, which should contribute to vocational guidance without restricting freedom of choice of suitable employment.

The Committee takes due note of these explanations. It requests the Government to supply information on any measures that have been taken or are envisaged to guarantee that the provisions of Act No. 24/1976 cannot in practice serve as a means of compulsion to work, and to supply a copy of any text that totally or partially repeals these provisions.

5. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under section 15(3) of the rules of socialist organisations in agriculture (Decree of the Council of State No. 93 of 28 March 1983), the withdrawal of a member of a co-operative must be approved by the General Assembly, and it requested the Government to indicate the practical consequences of a refusal by the General Assembly to approve the withdrawal of a member of a co-operative.

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government to the Conference Committee according to which agricultural co-operatives are engaged in a process of fundamental transformation following the adoption of Legislative Decree No. 42/1990, which distributed 3 million hectares of land, representing about 30 per cent of the country's arable land, to peasants as private farms. Many agricultural co-operatives have therefore disappeared or are being reorganised into farms, joint stock companies or other forms of ownership. The Committee also notes the Government's statement in its report that the provisions of section 15(3), as well as the other provisions of Decree No. 93/1983, have fallen into abeyance and that, in a report to Parliament on 18 October 1990, the Prime Minister stated that a Bill on landownership, permitting the withdrawal of members of co-operatives and the dissolution of co-operatives by their members would be submitted to Parliament.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the provisions that have been adopted in this respect that guarantee the freedom of members to leave co-operatives.

6. The Committee notes the "Theses for the draft Constitution of Romania", prepared by the Parliamentary Commission for drafting the Constitution of Romania and transmitted by the Government to the ILO. The Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government concerning the definition of forced labour appearing in Title II, Chapter 2, point 16 of the Theses.