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1. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government to the effect that subsection (g) (passive resistance to work) and (m) (acts seriously harmful to the production process) of Act No. 11/75 have been implicitly repealed by Act No. 23/91. Under the terms of the above provisions, penalties involving forced labour (sections 6 and 8(2) of the same Act) can be imposed to punish breaches of labour discipline.

The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the national legislation formally into conformity with the Convention by expressly repealing or amending subsections (g) and (m) of Act No. 11/75 to eliminate any doubt or uncertainty as to the status of the statutory law.

2. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under the terms of section 132 of Legislative Decree No. 33/252 (Merchant Shipping Penal and Disciplinary Code) crew members who desert at the post of embarkation are liable to a prison sentence of up to one year; desertion in any other port may be punished by a sentence of two years.

Under the terms of section 137 of the above Code, crew members who fail to carry out orders issued by superiors concerning services which do not endanger the safety of the vessel may be punished by a prison sentence of from one to six months. A crew member who refuses to obey an order and subsequently carries it out voluntarily may be punished by a maximum of three months' imprisonment. Prison sentences involve compulsory labour by virtue of sections 13 and 50(c) of the Prison Regulations (Regulamento do regime progressivo) of 9 July 1981.

The Committee recalled that the only sentences not covered by the Convention are those applying to acts which endanger the safety of the vessel or the life or health of persons on board.

The Committee notes that the Government's report does not contain information on this matter.

The Committee once again requests the Government to examine the above provisions in the light of the Convention and to provide information on the measures that have been taken or are envisaged to ensure that sanctions involving compulsory labour may not be imposed for breaches of labour discipline.

3. The Committee noted previously, from the information provided by the Government, that several draft texts on prisons were under examination, including a preliminary draft Bill on the general principles of the prison system. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the status of the above draft texts.