Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes the information in the Government's report and the legal texts provided.

Article 1(1) and Article 2(1) of the Convention. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes from the Government's report that the contract on the basis of which the prisoner's work for private employers is to be performed has to be concluded between the prison administration and the third party concerned and that employers are bound by the same obligations in respect of the prisoner's health and safety as those which regulate normal employment relationships. The Committee recalls that prisoners must not be hired to or placed at the disposal of private parties. It further considers that voluntary consent by the prisoner to working for a private employer is a necessary condition for such employment to be compatible with the explicit provision of Article 2, paragraph 2(c). Also, the work must be performed in conditions which guarantee payment of normal wages and social security, etc.

The Committee asks the Government to indicate how and when the person concerned is giving that free consent, and to give details on the guarantees and safeguards established in law and practice.