Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

The Committee notes with regret that no report has been received from the Government. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following matters:

1. Article 2, paragraph 2(a), of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to supply information on the development work carried out by those performing military service in barracks.

The Committee noted the Act respecting compulsory military service (Legislative Decree 246 of 8 November 1983) and the Regulations issued thereunder (Presidential Decree 072/84) which were supplied by the Government.

The Committee noted that the Government's report for the period ending 30 June 1987 did not contain information on the programmes for the co-operation of the armed forces in the activities undertaken to implement the National Support System for Social Mobilisation, as provided in Legislative Decree 19.352 of 1972, referred to by the Committee in previous comments.

The Committee points out once more that under the Convention only work of a purely military character is outside the scope of the instrument.

The Committee requests the Government to report the development work carried out by those performing compulsory military service.

2. Freedom of persons in the service of the State to leave their employment. In its previous direct request, the Committee requested the Government to supply a copy of the rules governing the situation of career members of the armed forces in respect of their freedom to leave their employment during peacetime at their own initiative within a reasonable period, either at specified intervals or with previous notice.

The Committee noted the information supplied by the Government in its report for the period ending 30 June 1987 to the effect that special conditions of service govern the rights and duties of members of the armed forces, which vary for the police forces, the airforce, the army and the navy.

The Committee again requests the Government to supply the texts governing these conditions of service, in order to be able to ascertain their conformity with the Convention.

The Committee also requests the Government to supply copies of the regulations setting out the conditions under which persons who receive instruction or vocational training on behalf of the State, may request its termination on a temporary or definitive basis.

3. In its previous direct request, the Committee noted that under section 131(c) of the Regulations of the Code on the serving of sentences (Presidential Decree No. 012-85 of 12 June 1985), work may be supplied to prisoners by individuals through the prison administration.

The Committee noted that the Government referred to the guarantees relating to wages and social security provided for in the Regulations issued under the Code on the serving of sentences.

The Committee noted, however, that neither the Regulations, nor the Code on the serving of sentences provide for the explicit consent of prisoners for the acceptance of employment in cases in which work is provided by individuals.

With regard to wages, the Regulations lay down in section 126 the form in which they shall be distributed, without, however, making reference to the way in which the wages to be received by prisoners when they are employed by individuals shall be determined.

The Committee recalled that, as it indicated in paragraphs 97 to 99 of its General Survey of 1979 on the Abolition of Forced Labour, the employment of prisoners by private individuals or enterprises is only compatible with the Convention under conditions of a free employment relationship, namely, one based on the explicit consent of the persons concerned and subject to the corresponding guarantees regarding wages and social security.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information concerning the measures that have been taken in order to ensure that prisoners employed by individuals or private enterprises are able to give their consent, and concerning the methods of determining the wages paid by these enterprises or private individuals to prison labourers.

4. The Committee requested the Government to supply information on the measures that have been taken to amend section 132 of the Penal Code, which provides for the compulsory labour of convicted persons and detainees, in view of the fact that the Code on the serving of sentences of 1985 establishes the optional nature of prison labour for prisoners who have been brought to trial.

The Committee noted that according to the Government's statement in its report for the period ending 30 June 1987, the above has been brought to the knowledge of the Ministry of Justice so that measures can be adopted when a new Penal Code is issued. The Committee again requests the Government to report the progress achieved in this respect.

5. In its previous direct request, the Committee requested the Government to supply information on the legal provisions governing the type of contract known as "enganche", which was referred to in the report submitted to the Working Group on Slavery of the United Nations by the Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights, concerning debt bondage and forced labour in Peru (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.2/1984/NGO/1), dated 30 July 1984.

The Committee noted the Government's indication that section 42 of the National Constitution prohibits forced labour and that the Presidential Decree of 7 December 1921 prohibits the engagement of manual workers through the so-called "enganchadores" or intermediaries in agricultural negotiations from the valleys of Chicama and Santa Catalina, provided that they are not representatives of the farms issuing the contracts. The Committee noted that, according to the Government, there are no contracts termed "enganche" in the legislation.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the terms and conditions of employment of persons who in practice work under the system known as "enganche" in rural regions and in goldmines in the Department of Madre de Dios, and on any measures taken or contemplated to secure observance of the Convention in this respect.