Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report. The Committee also notes the comments by Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (National Employees Union) on the application of the Convention.

1. Article 25 of the Convention. In previous comments the Committee referred to allegations of child labour exploitation in domestic service, shops, private coaches, tourist industry and fishing camps (Wadiyas). The Committee noted that slavery was abolished in 1844, that sections 361 and 362 of the Penal Code prohibit buying or disposing of any person as a slave but that according to the Ceylon Workers' Congress no other provisions prohibited forced labour. The Committee further noted that article 27, paragraph 13, of the Constitution provides that the State shall promote with special care the interests of children and youth so as to ensure their full physical, mental, moral, religious and social development, to protect them from exploitation and discrimination and that a number of laws have been enacted to protect children. The Committee noted, however, that it was alleged that protective laws were not adequately respected and enforced and that the main reason for the abuse of child labour was the lack of deterrent punishment.

The Committee notes the Government's information in its report and the survey on child employment in the passenger transport annexed to the report.

The Committee has also taken note of the documents submitted by the Sri Lankan participants in the Asian Regional Seminar on Children in Bondage (Islamabad, Pakistan, 23-26 November 1993). This seminar was organized by the ILO in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan and the UN Centre for Human Rights and was attended by participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand; it included judges, lawyers, labour officials, members of employers' and workers' organizations, and officials of national and regional non-governmental organizations concerned with bonded labour. The participants formulated and adopted a Programme of Action against Child Bondage.

In relation to the situation in Sri Lanka the documents submitted refer to instances of forced child labour to be found essentially in domestic service. It is stated that child servants are mostly brought from the rural areas to the urban households by agents. In many situations, the parents lose contact with the children who virtually become abandoned and have no alternative but to remain with their masters. It is recorded that the Women and Children's Bureau of the Police Department has received over 1,000 complaints over the last few years of children being subjected to inhuman treatment such as being beaten or burnt by their masters, but the actual statistics would undoubtedly be higher. Such domestic servants are stated to be harassed, physically tortured and sexually abused by their masters; some are badly maimed and mentally scarred for life. Many end up in prostitution where they continue to be exploited. Although some employers are arrested and tried, they constitute a microscopic minority and the majority of employers get away as the children are either frightened or have no means of alerting the authorities. The Committee notes that the report on child labour in Sri Lanka, published by the ILO in 1993, refers to newspaper reports and cuttings which indicate that some children have been starved, some battered, burnt or tortured to death. The Committee also notes that in its comments the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya points to the employment of children in domestic service and states that the Convention is not applied satisfactorily due mainly to the shortage of labour inspectors.

The documents also refer to bonded child labour in fishing camps (wadiyas) situated in small islands off the north western and eastern coasts. These children are removed from their parents, in payment of a small sum of money, under the false promise of a brighter prospect. They are not allowed to leave the islands and become virtual slaves. The unrest prevailing in these regions seems however to have made it difficult for such camps to operate in these areas and the Government indicates in its report that child labour in fishing camps is not a frequent occurrence.

The Committee notes the above comments and documents. The Committee hopes that the Government will supply information on the application of the Convention in law and in practice with regard to the situation referred to in these comments and documents, including full particulars on the following: measures taken or envisaged as concerns adoption and enforcement of penal sanctions against exploiters of forced child labour, in particular in domestic service; inspections carried out and prosecutions engaged and any measures adopted to establish an adequate and efficient law enforcement machinery; rehabilitation measures for rescued children; any other measures for the protection of children against forced labour.

Referring also to the above-mentioned Programme of Action against Child Bondage adopted by the participants in the Islamabad Seminar, the Committee hopes that the Government will provide information on any national action programme adopted or envisaged to combat child servitude.

2. Referring to its previous comments the Committee notes that the state of emergency proclaimed on 20 June 1989 under Part II of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40), 1947, has been renewed monthly since that date and remains in force. The Committee notes that under section 10 of the Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulations, No. 1 of 1989, also still in force, the President may order to require any person to do any work or render any service in aid, or in connection with, the national security or the maintenance of essential services. Contravention or failure to comply with the requisition order is an offence and punishable, in addition to any other penalty imposed by the court, by forfeiture of all property. The list of essential services contained in the schedule to Regulations No. 1 of 1989, such as modified subsequently, comprises inter alia services, work or labour necessary or to be done in connection with the export of commodities, garments and other export products. The Committee recalls that the Ceylon Workers' Congress in comments made on the application of the Convention has previously indicated that the President has published a series of regulations empowering officials to require any person to do any work or render any personal service under the menace of penalties.

Referring to the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 2(d), of the Convention and to the explanations provided in paragraphs 63 to 66 of its 1979 General Survey on the Abolition of Forced or Compulsory Labour, the Committee recalls that recourse to compulsory labour under emergency powers is to be limited to circumstances which endanger the existence or well-being of the whole or part of the population. It should be clear from the legislation itself that the power to exact labour is limited to what is strictly required to cope with such circumstances. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to this effect.

3. The Committee has noted that under the provisions of section 41 of the Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulations, No. 1 of 1989, relating to the maintenance of and obstruction to essential services, a person who fails or refuses to attend his workplace, or to perform work to which he is directed (section 41, paragraph 1(a) to (c)) is deemed to have forthwith terminated or vacated his employment, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other law or terms or conditions of a contract governing his employment. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the provisions of the Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979 remain applicable.

4. In previous comments the Committee referred to the Compulsory Public Service Act No. 70 of 1961 imposing on graduates an obligation to perform compulsory public service for up to five years under penalty of a fine for every day's failure to discharge this duty (sections 3(1), 4(1)(c) and 4(5)). The Government indicated that the Act was not implemented in respect of medical officers and that no enforcement of the provisions of the Act had come to the Government's notice. The Committee notes the Government's information in its latest report that there are no reported instances of prosecutions against any graduates under this law. The Committee again expresses the hope that the Government will indicate measures contemplated or adopted to amend or repeal the Compulsory Public Service Act.