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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Samoa (RATIFICATION: 2008)

Other comments on C029

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its first report.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes that the Crimes Ordinance, 1961 does not appear to contain any anti-trafficking provisions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to prohibit trafficking in persons for both labour and sexual exploitation. The Committee also requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the extent of the phenomenon of trafficking in persons in Samoa, as well as measures taken to prevent and combat this phenomenon. Please also provide information on any legal proceedings which have been instituted, indicating the penalties imposed on perpetrators.

Article 2(2)(b). Civic obligations. The Committee notes that section 2 of the Labour and Employment Bill, 2010, excludes from the definition of forced labour any work or service which forms part of the national civic or cultural obligations of a person. However, the Committee notes the absence of information regarding the services which might be exacted as normal civic or cultural legal obligations of citizens which are not considered to be forced or compulsory labour. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the nature of the civic obligations, providing copies of the relevant legislative texts.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. The Committee notes that under section 21 of the Prisons Act, 1967 prisoners may be employed at labour beyond the precincts of the prison in which they are lodged. As section 21 of the Prisons Act allows prisoners to be employed outside penitentiary establishments, the Committee requests the Government to specify whether prisoners are hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations and if so, under which conditions.

Article 2(2)(d) and (e). State of emergency and minor communal services. The Committee observes that the Labour and Employment Act, 1972 does not contain any provision on state of emergency or minor communal services. However, the Committee notes that section 2 of the Labour and Employment Relations Bill excludes from forced labour any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, as well as any minor communal services of a kind which are performed by the members of the community in the direct interest of the community. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of the Labour and Employment Relations Bill in the near future, so as to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.

Article 25. Penalties for the exaction of forced or compulsory labour. The Committee notes that the national legislation under review contains no provisions imposing penal sanctions for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour and that pursuant to section 51 of the Labour and Employment Relations Bill, an employer who enters into a contract contrary to any of the provisions of the Act, shall be liable for a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units. The Committee notes that one penalty unit is equal to 100 Samoan tala (WST) (approximately US$43), pursuant to section 4 of the Fines (Review and Amendment) Act of 1998.

The Committee recalls that Article 25 of the Convention provides that the illegal exaction of forced labour shall be punishable as a penal offence and it shall be an obligation of the State to ensure that the penalties imposed are really adequate and are strictly enforced. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that section 51 of the Labour and Employment Relations Bill, provides only for fines. The Committee points out that sanction consisting of a fine, does not constitute an effective sanction for the imposition of forced labour, in light of the seriousness of the violation and the fact that the sanctions need to be dissuasive.

The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate any penal provisions which could be used to prosecute and sanction persons who have imposed forced labour. It also requests the Government to indicate the progress made in the adoption of the Labour and Employment Relations Bill, and ensure in this framework that sanctions imposed in case of forced labour are really adequate.