Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Chile (Ratification: 1999)

Article 1(d) of the Convention. Imprisonment with compulsory labour as punishment for participation in strikes. In its previous comments, the Committee drew the Government’s attention to the need to amend the provisions of section 11 of the State Security Act, which are inconsistent with the Convention. According to these provisions, collective work stoppages, walkouts or strikes in public services or public utilities or in activities pertaining to production, transport or commerce that are carried out in a manner inconsistent with the law and disturb the peace or disrupt public utilities or services the compulsory operation of which is established by law, or which harm a vital industry, shall constitute an offence and be liable to presidio (imprisonment). Incitement to or encouragement of the abovementioned unlawful forms of conduct is subject to the same penalties. According to section 32 of the Penal Code, persons sentenced to the penalty of presidio are obliged to carry out work as determined by the prison regulations. The Committee pointed out that in supervising the application of Convention No. 87, it already noted the restrictive nature of some provisions of the Labour Code which allow a strike wrongly to be declared unlawful and that the services and activities referred to in section 11 of the State Security Act are defined too broadly and go beyond essential services in the strict sense of the term.

The Committee notes that in its most recent reports on the application of Convention No. 87 and the application of this Convention, the Government supplies no information on measures taken to amend the provisions of section 11 of the State Security Act. The Committee trusts that in its next report the Government will be able to give an account of measures adopted to repeal or amend the provisions of section 11 of the State Security Act so as to ensure that persons participating peacefully in a strike are not liable to imprisonment in the course of which they may be required to work.