Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

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

Impact of compulsory prison labour on the application of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under section 32 of the Penal Code, persons sentenced to the penalty of presidio are obliged to perform work as determined by the respective prison rules. The Committee drew the Government’s attention to the need to amend the provisions of section 11 of the State Security Act (Act No. 12927), under which, collective work stoppages, walkouts or strikes in public services or public utilities or in activities pertaining to production, transport or commerce carried out in a manner inconsistent with the law and which 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). In the light of section 32 of the Penal Code, the Committee observed that the above section of the State Security Act could allow for the participation in a peaceful strike to be punishable with imprisonment involving compulsory labour.

The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government indicates that the regulations governing prison labour in Chile fall under the Regulation establishing the labour and training statutes for prison labour, which was adopted in 2011 by Decree No. 943 of the Ministry of Justice and repealed paragraph nine of the 1998 Penitentiary Establishments Regulation which contained provisions on prison labour. Under section one of the 2011 Regulations, any person under the supervision of the Chilean Prison Service may access the prison labour and/or job training services offered in prisons, with such activities aimed at providing participants with tools to promote their social integration, and at contributing to their economic development and that of their families. Further, under section 8 of the Regulations, labour and job training activities shall always be voluntary and may never be used as a punishment or other form of correction, nor considered a source of profit for the administration. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication that, in the light of this legislative provision, the imposition of labour under section 32 of the Penal Code can never imply the imposition of any kind of labour within the penitentiary establishments in the country, given the voluntary nature of such activities for persons deprived of their liberty.