Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee takes note of the communication of the Trade Union Confederation of Burundi (COSYBU) received on 2 September 2013, and forwarded to the Government on 19 September 2013, concerning compulsory community development work. The Committee also notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

Repetition

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Compulsory community development work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that Legislative Decree No. 1/16 of 29 May 1979, which established the obligation to carry out community development work under penalty of sanctions, had been replaced by Act No. 1/016 of 20 April 2005 organizing municipal administration. According to this Act, which aims at promoting the economic and social development of municipalities not only on an individual but also on a collective and unified basis – municipalities may cooperate through a system of inter-municipality, and it is up to the municipal council to establish the community development programme, monitor its implementation and carry out the evaluation thereof. The Act also provides for a regulatory text determining the organization, mechanisms and rules of procedure of inter-municipality. The Committee noted that although the principle of community work was upheld in the Act, it did not explicitly provide for the voluntary nature of this work or establish the rules for participation in this work. In this respect, the Committee noted that, according to the observations submitted in 2008 by the COSYBU, community work is decided upon without popular consultation and the Government bans the movement of persons throughout the duration of this work. It also noted, according to information available on the internet site of the Government and the National Assembly, that community work seemed to be organized on a weekly basis and included work of reforestation, cleaning and the construction of economic and social infrastructure such as schools, colleges and health centres. Taking into account this information, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary steps to adopt the text applying the Act of 2005 and ensure that it explicitly referred to the voluntary nature of participation in this work.

The Committee takes note of the new observations received by the COSYBU in 2012 and forwarded to the Government on 18 September 2012. It notes that the COSYBU confirms that community work is decided upon unilaterally without the population being consulted. The COSYBU refers to the mobilization of the police to prevent the movement of persons during this work. The Committee notes with regret that the Government has failed once again to reply to the observations made by the COSYBU and that, for the second consecutive year, it has not provided a report on the application of the Convention. While noting that the Government previously indicated that the legislation does not provide for penalties to be imposed on persons who fail to carry out community work, the Committee observes that community work is carried out by the population without there being a text regulating the nature of this work or rules determining how this work might be required of the population or the way in which it is organized. In these circumstances, the Committee once again expresses the hope that the Government will take the necessary steps to adopt the text applying Act No. 1/016 of 20 April 2005 organizing municipal administration, particularly with respect to the participation in and organization of community work, to ensure that the voluntary nature of participation in this work is explicitly set out in the legislation. Meanwhile, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the type and duration of the community work carried out and the number of persons concerned.

2. Compulsory agricultural work. For many years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to take the necessary measures to bring a number of texts providing for the compulsory participation in certain types of agricultural work into line with the Convention. It has stressed the need to set out in the legislation the voluntary nature of agricultural work resulting from obligations relating to the conservation and utilization of the land and the obligation to recreate and maintain minimum areas of fruit crops (Ordinances Nos 710/275 and 710/276 of 25 October 1979), as well as the need to formally repeal certain texts on compulsory cultivation, porterage and public works (Decree of 14 July 1952, Ordinance No. 1286 of 10 July 1953 and the Decree of 10 May 1957). Noting that the Government previously indicated that these texts, which dated from the colonial period, had been repealed and that the voluntary nature of agricultural work had now been set out in the legislation, the Committee requests the Government once again to send a copy of the texts that repeal the abovementioned legislation and set out the voluntary nature of agricultural work.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.