Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre el trabajo forzoso, 1930 (núm. 29) - Sri Lanka (Ratificación : 1950)
Protocolo de 2014 relativo al Convenio sobre el trabajo forzoso, 1930 - Sri Lanka (Ratificación : 2019)

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Freedom of career members of the air force and navy to terminate their service. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s detailed information on the regulations governing the discharge policy for officers and airmen in the Regular and Volunteer Airforce. The Committee accordingly notes that discharge from service for the Officers in the Regular Airforce shall be by retirement after completion of 20 years (15 years on request for lady officers); resignation of Commission; or invalidation. In the case of volunteer officers, the discharge from service shall be: retirement; discharge on disciplinary, administrative or medical grounds; or resignation of commission. The discharge of services for Regular Airmen/Airwomen shall be: retirement, discharge on disciplinary, administrative medical or compassionate grounds; or discharge by purchase or free discharge; the same for for Volunteer Airmen/Airwomen.

The Government indicates that apart from the discharge due to invalidation, officers are required to complete their agreed period of service, failing which they may incur financial liability. The Government emphasizes that the investment made in grooming an officer within the Airforce represents a significant allocation of public funds. Therefore, before accepting the requests for resignation, due consideration will be given to: (i) the impact of such discharge to maintain the operational readiness of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF); (ii) the impact of such discharge on the strengths of the respective branch as well as of the SLAF; (iii) the reasons for such requests, whether they are justifiable or not; (iv) the future recruitment drive of the SLAF; and (v) whether the individual has fair share to the SLAF.

With regard to the right of the career members of the navy force to leave their service, the Committee takes due note from the Government’s report that commissioned officers and sailors serving in the Volunteer Naval Force or the Volunteer Naval Reserve are entitled to resign from their commission or request discharge from service by submitting a three months’ notice to the President /Commanding Officer (sections 11(3) and 14 of the Navy Act N0. 34 of 1950).

With regard to the Regular Naval Force and Reverse commissioned officers do not have the right to resign their commissions, but may be permitted to do so at the discretion of the President (section 11(1)). Similarly, sailors do not have the right to discharge, but pursuant to the provisions of the Seamen Enlistment and Service Regulations 1950, the Commander of the Navy may grant a discharge under specific grounds, such as medical reasons.

The Committee recalls that career military personnel and other officers in the service of the State who have voluntarily entered into an engagement, should have the right to leave the service in peacetime within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals, or with prior notice. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to review the regulations governing the resignation and discharge of officers and airmen/airwomen in the Regular and Volunteer Airforces, as well as commissioned officers and sailors in Regular Naval Force. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on:

• the modalities of discharge by resignation of commission and discharge by purchase for officers and airmen/airwomen in the regular air force, and relevant statistics in this regard;
• the number of applications for resignation of commission by officers and applications for discharge on specific grounds by sailors in the Regular Naval Force, the number of approvals and rejections by the President/ Commander of the Navy, as well as information on the possibility of leaving the service following discharge by purchase.

2. Compulsory public service. The Committee once again notes the Government’s statement that discussions are ongoing to explore the possibility of repealing the Compulsory Public Service Act No. 70 of 1961. The Committee recalls that under sections 3(1), 4(1)(c) and 4(5) of the Act, compulsory public service of up to five years may be imposed on graduates and that the Government has previously indicated that the Act had not been used for a significant period. Therefore, the Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the Compulsory Public Service Act No. 70 of 1961 into conformity with the Convention, by repealing the compulsory nature of public service for graduates, thus making participation in public service for graduates voluntary.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. The Committee previously noted that in practice the prison authority does not permit the employment of prisoners by private employers, including under the work release system. The Committee accordingly requested the Government to indicate whether it considered revising the Work Release Scheme, in order to align the legislation with the indicated practice.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the work release program is a rehabilitation programme implemented for prison inmates who are nearing their release and which allows the participating inmates to become familiar with the outside society by providing them with opportunities to engage in the daily routine of government agencies. Additionally, the program offers economic assistance to inmates in order to help them establish capital that can be invested in a sustainable livelihood after their release. Moreover, it may also support inmates in training for various skills. While the tasks assigned to inmates may vary from one institution to another, generally, they are required to assist the staff in government institutions with duties such as moving and organizing documents. Additionally, the Department of Labour recommends a payment for the work undertaken by the inmates based on the respective wage board. Furthermore, the work is strictly supervised by the government authority.

The Committee notes from the Prison Statistics of Sri Lanka 2023 of the Statistics Division Prison Headquarters that “work release scheme” is a scheme under which selected prisoners are allowed to get themselves employed in the open community unescorted during day and return to a work release centre for the night. The work release centre is a prison building without a perimeter wall or security devices which provide lodging for the prisoners who are sent out under the work release scheme. This report indicates that in 2022, there were 82 prisoners engaged on work release scheme.

The Government further states that the Cabinet has granted approval and the gazette is being issued for the Department of Prison to utilize prison labour in the private sector, as per the requirements set forth under the Convention. The Committee expresses the hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the text published in the gazette will clearly provide that when the work performed under the work release scheme is realized for private entities, the free, formal and informed consent of inmates is required and their working conditions approximate those of a free labour relationship. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the Gazette once issued.