Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - French Polynesia

Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention. Prison labour hired to private enterprises. In its previous comments, the Committee recalled that, to be compatible with the Convention, prisoners’ work for private enterprises must be carried out under conditions that approximate those of a free working relationship, implying the full and informed consent of the prisoner and a certain number of safeguards ensuring that this work is carried out in conditions which approximate a free labour relationship. It requested the Government to provide information on the voluntary nature of prison work and on their level of remuneration. The Committee notes that the Government has transmitted the report prepared by the Government of French Polynesia and that the latter indicates that the issues raised by the Committee of Experts are of the competence of the State and not of the Government of the French Polynesia. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will not fail to provide a report containing information on the following points, as it has committed itself in declaring the Convention applicable to the territory French Polynesia.

(a) Free consent to work. The Committee notes that section 717-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which contains the principle of voluntariness of prison work, was made applicable in French Polynesia under section 3 of Decree No. 2009-537 of 14 May 2009. However, sections D.P. 98 and D.P. 99 of the Code of Criminal Procedure applicable in French Polynesia, based on Decree No. 95-300 of 17 March 1995, seem to imply that prison work is compulsory except for persons who have not been sentenced; debtors; prisoners following a course of education or vocational training; those medically certified as unfit to work; and convicted prisoners subject to a special regime (this is confirmed by a reading a contrario of section D.P. 493, clause 2). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that the voluntary nature of prison work is unequivocally reflected in the legislation applicable on the territory of French Polynesia.

(b) Conditions of work approximating those of a free labour relationship. The Committee previously noted that the Prison Act adopted in 2009, which is applicable to French Polynesia subject to certain adjustments (section 99), provides that the participation of prisoners in occupational activities organized in prisons is governed by a tender document drafted by the prison administration, and that the prisoners’ remuneration may not be lower than a rate fixed by decree and indexed according to the minimum wage established locally by the competent authorities of French Polynesia.

The Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. 2011-1576 of 17 November 2011 modifying the Code of Criminal Procedure applicable in French Polynesia in relation to the remuneration applicable to work performed by prisoners. It notes that the level of remuneration is established at 45 per cent of the minimum wage for productive activities and this level varies from 33 to 20 per cent of the minimum wage for general service work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of prisoners working for private enterprises, the nature of the work carried out and the hourly rates of pay. Please also indicate the measures taken to continue to ensure that the conditions of work of detainees working for private entities approximate those of a free working relationship.