Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Fiji (Ratification: 1974)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no reply to previous comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the following matters raised in its previous direct request.

1. The 1993 edition of the General Orders applicable to the Fiji civil service, a copy of which is stated in the Government’s report to be enclosed for information and reference, appears not to have been received by the Office. The Committee would appreciate it if another copy could be sent with the Government’s next report.

2. The Committee noted the Government’s indication in its report that the Fijian customary laws have not been coded and will remain so for some time, that colonial regulations making a rigorous application of the concept of "lala", a form of community labour, have been abolished since the 1967 reorganization of the Fijian administration and that, following a further review of the Fijian administration in 1985, the drafting of new regulations is still in progress but is unlikely to take up the element of forced labour in its final provisions. The Committee took due note of the Government’s assurance that if there is some chance of its reintroduction, the Government will seek the sanction of the International Labour Organization.

3. Referring to the general observation on the Convention published in its report to the 87th Session of the ILC (1999), the Committee requests the Government to include in its next report information as to the present position in law and practice as regards:

(i)  whether there are prisons administered by private concerns, profit-making or otherwise;

(ii)  whether any private prison contractors deploy prisoners to work either inside or outside prison premises, either for the account of the contractor or for that of another enterprise;

(iii)  whether private parties are admitted by the prison authorities into prison premises of any kind for the purpose of engaging prisoners in employment;

(iv)  whether employment of prisoners outside prison premises, either for a public authority or for a private enterprise, is allowed;

(v)  the conditions in which employment under any of the above conditions takes place, in respect of remuneration (indicating the level and comparing it with minimum wage normally applicable to such work), benefits accruing (such as pension rights and workers’ compensation), observance of occupational safety and health legislation and other conditions of employment (e.g. through labour inspection), and how those conditions are determined;

(vi)  what the source of any remuneration is (whether from public or private funds) and for what purposes it must or may be applied (e.g. for the personal use of the prisoner or if it is subject to compulsory deductions);

(vii)  for whose benefit is the product of prisoners’ work and any surplus profit deriving from it, after deduction of overheads, and how it is disbursed;

(viii)and how the consent of the prisoners concerned is guaranteed, so that it is free from the menace of any penalty, including any loss of privileges or other disadvantages following from a refusal to work.