Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Austria (Ratification: 1960)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Austria (Ratification: 2019)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 2(2)(c) of the Convention. Work of prisoners for private companies. For a number of years, the Committee has been examining the situation of prisoners who are obliged to work, without their consent, in workshops run by private enterprises within state prisons, pursuant to section 46(3) of the Law on the execution of sentences. The Committee noted the indication of the Government that the prisoners working in private-run workshops are supervised only by prison staff and paid by the prison. The Committee repeatedly pointed out that the practice followed in this regard in Austria corresponds in all aspects to what is expressly prohibited by Article 2(2)(c), namely, that a person is “hired to” private contractors. It noted, in particular, that the Convention addresses not only situations where prisoners are “employed” by the private company or placed in a position of servitude in relation to the private company, but also situations where prisoners are hired to private enterprises but remain under the authority and control of the prison administration.

The Committee also noted the Government’s repeated indication that prisoners working for private contractors benefit from rights and conditions of work that are similar to those guaranteed in a free labour relationship. Additionally, the Government stated that only about 2.5 per cent of companies operating in Austrian prisons are privately run and that care is taken to ensure that prisoners are free and willing to carry out work in prison premises on a fully informed basis.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that, as of 1 January 2017, the remuneration for work by detained persons was increased by 46.9 per cent in the standard wage index compared with the level of 1 March 2000. The Government also indicates that it is stipulated that inmates working in privately run workplaces inside the prison must also provide freely given and informed consent. However, the Committee notes that section 46(3) of the Law on the execution of sentences was not amended during the reporting period. The Committee also notes that, according to a document named “Correctional services in Austria” issued by the Ministry of Justice in August 2016, convicts and prisoners in precautionary measures of forensic placement, who are fit to work, are obligated by law to take over work. Prisoners who are required to work have to do the work that has been allocated to them; however, they must not be employed for work which might endanger their life or subject them to serious health hazards. The amount of work remuneration is in keeping with the wage of workers in the metal-processing industry resulting from collective bargaining. However, 75 per cent of work remuneration is withheld as contribution to prison costs. On average, prisoners in Austrian prisons receive €5 per day, after deduction of their contribution to prison costs and of their contribution towards unemployment insurance.

The Committee once again points out that, in the absence of the voluntary consent of the concerned prisoners, the other factors mentioned by the Government cannot be regarded as indicators of a freely accepted employment relationship. The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the work of prisoners for private companies is only compatible with the Convention where it does not involve compulsory labour. To this end, the formal, freely given and informed consent of the persons concerned is required, in addition to further guarantees and safeguards covering the essential elements of a labour relationship, such as wages, occupational safety and health and social security. Noting that section 46(3) of the Law on the execution of sentences remains in force, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on how the freely given and informed consent of prisoners to work in private enterprise workshops inside prison premises is ensured in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that section 46(3) of the Law on the execution of sentences is revised, in order to bring it into conformity with the indicated practice by the Government and the requirements of the Convention.

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