Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

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

The Committee notes that the Government's reports received in December 1996 and September 1997 contain no reply to its previous comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

In previous comments the Committee noted various ministerial regulations providing guidelines for the inter-regions employment (AKAD). It noted that under the Ministerial Decision No. 12/MEN/BP/84, which provides for various protective measures for contract labourers in Sumatra, AKAD workers should be free to decide upon expiration of their contracts to stay on or to return to their places of origin. However, under the guidelines, labourers are to be persuaded to stay in the regions rather than to go back to their places of origin.

The Committee noted the Government's indication in its report that the right of workers to return to their places of origin is protected by the Ministerial Regulation No. 02/MEN/1994 on national and overseas employment placement. It noted that, under section 12, the employer/user is obliged to provide protection of workers during the periods of pre- and post-placement, to submit periodical reports to the Department of Manpower on details about the interregional movements of workers and that, under section 41, the violations of the provisions of the Regulation are punishable with imprisonment or fine.

The Committee, having noted the Government's indication in its report that labour inspectors have the authority to conduct inspection during the period of the labour contract, requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to protect workers during the periods which fall outside the duration of the labour contract.

The Committee would appreciate receiving information more generally on the achievements of labour inspectors in the field of inter-regions employment, information on measures taken by the labour inspectorate to supervise labour contractors, including statistical data on numbers of AKAD workers who decided to stay on in the region after the initial period of the inter-regions employment and those who chose to go back to their places of origin, number of cases of punishment under article 41 of the 1994 Regulation and other relevant facts which would assist the Committee to satisfy itself that the Convention is fully applied.