Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Kiribati (Ratification: 2000)

Article 2(2)(d) of the Convention. Cases of emergency. The Committee previously took due note of the adoption of the Employment and Industrial Relations Code, 2015 (EIRC), providing for new provisions on the limits to work exacted in cases of emergency under section 121(b) and requested the Government to indicate the progress achieved in the implementation of the EIRC, after the Parliament has assented to it. The Committee notes with interest that the Employment and Industrial Relations Code was assented to by the Parliament and that its Part XIV on Forced Labour, which contains section 121(b), entered into force on 1 November 2016.

Article 2(2)(e). Minor communal services. The Committee previously noted that section 121(c) of the EIRC states that forced or compulsory labour does not include “unpaid labour on minor communal works that are reasonably required as part of reasonable and normal communal or civic obligations, provided that members of the community concerned must be consulted in regard to the need for such works, prior to any obligation imposed on a person to undertake them”. The Government indicated that the need for such communal services is decided by the Mwaneaba (Traditional Community Meeting House) system, which determines the members of the community who will be consulted, the tasks to perform and their duration. The Committee requested the Government to indicate the progress achieved in the implementation of the EIRC, after the Parliament has assented to it, and to provide information on the exaction of communal works within the Mwaneaba system.

The Committee notes with interest that the provision of the Employment and Industrial Relations Code on minor communal services entered into force on 1 November 2016. The Government indicates in its report that the type of communal works within the Mwaneaba system can differ from one island to another, depending on the decision of the Unimwane (traditional elders’ authority), but that work such as renovation of the Mwaneaba itself, the welcoming of guests or compulsory Mwaneaba meetings are common throughout all Mwaneabas in Kiribati. Regarding the duration of the work, the Government indicates that it may range from one day to two months, for the renovation and construction of buildings, according to the decision of the Unimwane. These works are not compulsory for the people who choose not to be part of the ownership or membership of that Mwaneaba, but in this case neither are they entitled to the benefits, such as voicing their decisions under the Mwaneaba or sharing the gifts or assistance given to that Mwaneaba. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the type of communal works and their duration within the Mwaneaba system, in its future reports.

Article 25. Penalties for the exactions of forced labour. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 75 of the Employment Ordinance 1998, according to which the exaction of forced or compulsory labour is punishable by life imprisonment and a fine.

The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that there has been no reported cases of forced labour under the Employment Ordinance. The Government further indicates that the Employment Ordinance has been repealed and replaced by the EIRC, which provides for a sentence of imprisonment of 25 years or a fine, or both, for the exaction of forced or compulsory labour (section 122). In this regard, the Committee observes that the Government has reduced the penalty imposed for the exaction of forced labour. Referring to paragraph 319 of the 2012 General Survey on fundamental Conventions, the Committee recalls that, when the sanction may consist only of a fine, it does not constitute an effective sanction in light of the seriousness of the violation and the fact that the sanctions need to be dissuasive. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the specific penalties imposed on persons convicted under section 122 of the EIRC in practice.