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The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its report.

1. Article 2, paragraphs 2(a) of the Convention. The Committee has previously drawn the Government's attention to the non-conformity with the provisions of the Convention of section 4 of Royal Decree No. 137-66 concerning the institution and organisation of military service, under which certain recruits may be made available to public administrations for work of a general nature. The Government indicated previously that this practice was not systematic and did not duplicate other economic policy measures or regular vocational training programmes, and that the recruits were only placed at the disposal of public administrations on a voluntary basis and under conditions of extreme necessity. The Committee requested the Government to supply details on present practice regarding the use of recruits for work of a general nature and to indicate the nature of the work and the number of recruits affected.

The Committee notes the information in the Government's report to the effect that certain recruits were placed at the disposal of the Ministry of Primary Education to substitute for regular teachers away on retraining courses in 1969-71; others were placed at the disposal of the State Secretariat for Planning to assist in processing the general census forms in 1971 and 1972. The Government indicates that there have been no other cases of recruits being made available to public administrations and that in the above cases this was generally done with the consent of the persons concerned. The Committee also notes the Government's indications that there has been no further application of the provisions in question, and hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to give statutory effect to the practice of placing recruits at the disposal of public administrations only with their consent.

2. The Committee notes the Government's indications that it will provide information on the other matters raised in the previous direct request as soon as they have been communicated by the competent departments. The Committee recalls that these matters concern the following points:

(a) The Committee noted that by virtue of sections 1, 3, 5, 6 and 9 of the Dahir to issue Act No. 1-73-415 of 13 August 1973, a civic service is established for the holders of certain higher academic qualifications who are placed at the disposal of administrations in return for remuneration, that civic and military service cannot be combined and that those officials who have performed two years' service prior to finally becoming entitled to the academic qualification are exempted from civic service. The Committee also noted that by virtue of Decree No. 2-80-658 of 12 April 1982, a proportion of the recruits to civic service may be obliged to undergo a 15 month period of military instruction.

Referring to the explanations given in paragraphs 24 to 33 and 49 to 62 of its 1979 General Survey on the Abolition of Forced Labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of the above-mentioned provisions, and in particular the number of holders of certain degrees recruited to perform civic service, their assignment under the provisions of section 6 (as amended) of the Dahir of 13 August 1973, and the possibility of the recruits choosing between civic and military service.

(b) Freedom of public servants and career members of the armed forces to terminate their employment. The Committee recalls its request for information regarding national legislation and practice concerning the situation of various categories of persons in the service of the State, and particularly with reference to their freedom to leave the service on their own initiative after a reasonable time, either at specified intervals, or by giving notice. The Committee has noted that, by virtue of section 77 of the Dahir of 24 February 1958 establishing the General Conditions of Employment of the Public Service, the resignation of an official does not come into effect unless it is accepted by the authority within whose competence the power of appointment lies; in the event of refusal by the competent authority, the person concerned may, under section 78, place the case before the Joint Administrative Committee which issues a reasoned opinion for transmission to the competent authority.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report whether these provisions are still in force and, if so, to specify the criteria applied by the competent authorities in accepting or rejecting a resignation request and by the Joint Administrative Committee in support of its opinions.

The Committee also once again requests the Government to communicate the text of the provisions applicable to the resignation of career members of the armed forces.