Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Singapore (Ratification: 1965)

The Committee notes the detailed explanations supplied by the Government in its report in response to the Committee's previous comments. The Committee had noted that the Destitute Persons Act, 1989, repeated without change some provisions of sections on which it had been commenting for several years. Under sections 3 and 16 of the new Act, any indigent person may be required, subject to penal sanctions, to reside in a Welfare Home, and under section 13 of the same Act any person resident in such a Home may be required to engage in any suitable work.

The Committee notes in this connection that, according to the Government, Welfare Homes are meant for the rehabilitation of destitute persons who cannot fend for themselves, and that they are not penal institutions. The Government states that it is not mandatory for residents in such Homes to work. Moreover, work in such Homes is intended either to prepare the person concerned for employment, in which case the salary and working conditions prevailing in the market apply to work done outside the Home, or as a contribution, for a few hours a day, to maintenance in the Home.

The Government explains that the Destitute Persons Act is designed to provide shelter for homeless persons and those without means of subsistence. In August 1991 three Welfare Homes were housing 1,431 residents, 433 of whom were participating in the Home Employment Programme and 221 in the Day Release Programme.

While appreciative of the Government's efforts to assist the persons concerned, the Committee notes that the terms of the Act are highly coercive; it points out that compliance with the Convention requires that the admittance of destitute persons to a Welfare Home and their stay therein should be subject to their consent and that any work in such Homes should be done voluntarily both de jure and de facto.

The Committee hopes that the necessary measures will be taken to bring the law into conformity with the Convention; it asks the Government to continue supplying detailed information on the practical application of the provisions concerning Welfare Homes.