Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Slovakia (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee has noted the information provided by the Government in reply to its earlier comments. It notes, in particular, Decree No. 26/2003 on the employment of convicted persons, as well as model contracts concluded between penitentiary institutions and private users of prison labour concerning the work of prisoners both inside and outside the institution, provided by the Government with its report.

Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention. Work of prisoners for private individuals or companies. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that, under the legislation in force, convicts are under obligation to perform labour, and that penitentiary institutions may create conditions for employment of convicts on the basis of contractual relations with private companies or individuals. The Committee notes that, under sections 2(8) and 6 of Decree No. 26/2003, prison labour or services can be provided to the private users of prison labour, on a contract basis, through the Accessory Economic Activities Centres set up by the penitentiary institutions. The institution shall act as an employer of convicts assigned to work at the Centres, their working conditions being analogous to the institutions’ employees or to the employees of the private user of the convicts’ works or services (section 6(3) of the Decree); the work of prisoners is performed under permanent supervision by the penitentiary institution (section 2(8) of the Decree). As regards the remuneration of convicts, section 20(1) contains a reference to the provisions of Decree No. 499/2002 concerning the amount and conditions of remuneration of convicted persons.

While noting this information, the Committee again recalls that, under Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention, work or service exacted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law is excluded from the scope of the Convention if two conditions are met, namely: "… that the said work or service is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations". Referring once again to the explanations in paragraphs 96 et seq. of its General Report to the 89th Session of the International Labour Conference, 2001, the Committee notes from the provisions of Decree No. 26/2003 and the Government’s indications in the report that, in conformity with the first condition set out in Article 2(2)(c), the work is carried out "under the supervision and control of a public authority". However, as regards the second condition, namely, that the person "is not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations", the Committee observes that contracts for the hiring of prison labour to private enterprises in Slovakia correspond in all respects to what is prescribed by Article 2(2)(c), namely, that a person be "hired to" a private company. It is in the very nature of such hiring agreements to include mutual obligations between the prisons administration and the private enterprise.

As the Committee repeatedly pointed out, to be compatible with Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention, the work of prisoners for private users of prison labour should be carried out in conditions approximating a free employment relationship; this necessarily requires the formal consent of the persons concerned, as well as further guarantees and safeguards covering the essential elements of a free labour relationship, such as wages and social security, etc. (see paragraphs 119 and 128-143 of the Committee’s General report to the 89th Session of the International Labour Conference, 2001). In other words, work by prisoners, even for private enterprises, does not come under the scope of the Convention if there is no compulsion involved.

The Committee previously noted the Government’s view that, under the present conditions, the prisoner’s consent to perform labour is not needed. It notes that, under section 2(2) of Decree No. 26/2003 referred to above, a convicted person assigned to work shall not become a party to labour law relations nor to any other relations of a legal nature. However, the Government indicates in its latest report that the formal consent to perform the assigned work is given by the convicted person when such person is included into a particular workplace, and that no case of prisoners’ refusal to work has been recorded during the last three years within the framework of the whole prison system. The Committee requests the Government to clarify this situation, indicating, in particular, how the requirement of a formal consent of a prisoner to work for private enterprises is ensured, both inside and outside the penitentiary institution, and supplying copies of relevant provisions. Please also supply a copy of Decree No. 499/2002 concerning the amount and conditions of remuneration of convicted persons referred to above.