Convention Concerning Forced Labor

Article 15

1. Any laws or regulations relating to workmen’s compensation for accidents
or sickness arising out of the employment of the worker and any laws or
regulations providing compensation for the dependants of deceased or
incapacitated workers which are or shall be in force in the territory
concerned shall be equally applicable to persons from whom forced or
compulsory labour is exacted and to voluntary workers.

2. In any case it shall be an obligation on any authority employing any
worker on forced or compulsory labour to ensure the subsistence of any such
worker who, by accident or sickness arising out of his employment, is
rendered wholly or partially incapable of providing for himself, and to take
measures to ensure the maintenance of any persons actually dependent upon
such a worker in the event of his incapacity or decease arising out of his
employment.

Article 16

1. Except in cases of special necessity, persons from whom forced or
compulsory labour is exacted shall not be transferred to districts where the
food and climate differ so considerably from those to which they have been
accustomed as to endanger their health.

2. In no case shall the transfer of such workers be permitted unless all
measures relating to hygiene and accommodation which are necessary to adapt
such workers to the conditions and to safeguard their health can be strictly
applied.

3. When such transfer cannot be avoided, measures of gradual habituation to
the new conditions of diet and of climate shall be adopted on competent
medical advice.

4. In cases where such workers are required to perform regular work to which
they are not accustomed, measures shall be taken to ensure their habituation
to it, especially as regards progressive training, the hours of work and the
provision of rest intervals, and any increase or amelioration of diet which
may be necessary.

Article 17

Before permitting recourse to forced or compulsory labour for works of
construction or maintenance which entail the workers remaining at the
workplaces for considerable periods, the competent authority shall satisfy
itself–

(1) that all necessary measures are taken to safeguard the health of the
workers and to guarantee the necessary medical care, and, in particular, (a)
that the workers are medically examined before commencing the work and at
fixed intervals during the period of service, (b) that there is an adequate
medical staff, provided with the dispensaries, infirmaries, hospitals and
equipment necessary to meet all requirements, and (c) that the sanitary
conditions of the workplaces, the supply of drinking water, food, fuel, and
cooking utensils, and, where necessary, of housing and clothing, are
satisfactory;

(2) that definite arrangements are made to ensure the subsistence of the
families of the workers, in particular by facilitating the remittance, by
a safe method, of part of the wages to the family, at the request or with
the consent of the workers;

(3) that the journeys of the workers to and from the workplaces are made
at the expense and under the responsibility of the administration, which
shall facilitate such journeys by making the fullest use of all available
means of transport;

(4) that, in case of illness or accident causing incapacity to work of
a certain duration, the worker is repatriated at the expense of the
administration;

(5) that any worker who may wish to remain as a voluntary worker at the
end of his period of forced or compulsory labour is permitted to do so
without, for a period of two years, losing his right to repatriation free
of expense to himself.

Article 18

1. Forced or compulsory labour for the transport of persons or goods, such
as the labour of porters or boatmen, shall be abolished within the shortest
possible period. Meanwhile the competent authority shall promulgate
regulations determining, inter alia, (a) that such labour shall only be
employed for the purpose of facilitating the movement of officials of the
administration, when on duty, or for the transport of Government stores, or,
in cases of very urgent necessity, the transport of persons other than
officials, (b) that the workers so employed shall be medically certified to
be physically fit, where medical examination is possible, and that where
such medical examination is not practicable the person employing such
workers shall be held responsible for ensuring that they are physically fit
and not suffering from any infectious or contagious disease, (c) the maximum
load which these workers may carry, (d) the maximum distance from their
homes to which they may be taken, (e) the maximum number of days per month
or other period for which they may be taken, including the days spent in
returning to their homes, and (f) the persons entitled to demand this form
of forced or compulsory labour and the extent to which they are entitled to
demand it.

2. In fixing the maxima referred to under (c), (d) and (e) in the foregoing
paragraph, the competent authority shall have regard to all relevant
factors, including the physical development of the population from which the
workers are recruited, the nature of the country through which they must
travel and the climatic conditions.

3. The competent authority shall further provide that the normal daily
journey of such workers shall not exceed a distance corresponding to an
average working day of eight hours, it being understood that account shall
be taken not only of the weight to be carried and the distance to be
covered, but also of the nature of the road, the season and all other
relevant factors, and that, where hours of journey in excess of the normal
daily journey are exacted, they shall be remunerated at rates higher than
the normal rates.

Article 19

1. The competent authority shall only authorise recourse to compulsory
cultivation as a method of precaution against famine or a deficiency of food
supplies and always under the condition that the food or produce shall
remain the property of the individuals or the community producing it.

2. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as abrogating the obligation
on members of a community, where production is organised on a communal basis
by virtue of law or custom and where the produce or any profit accruing from
the sale thereof remain the property of the community, to perform the work
demanded by the community by virtue of law or custom.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

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