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Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Malaysia (RATIFICATION: 1957)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Malaysia (RATIFICATION: 2022)

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

1. In its previous comments the Committee raised the question of the possibility for regular officers to leave the service. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the different ages of retirement and the special circumstances for early retirement.

The Committee would request the Government to provide information on the possibilities for an officer to leave the service on its own request, before attaining one of these different ages of retirement, even when he is not yet entitled to retirement benefits.

2. The Committee notes the Government's indication that doctors serve for a three-year period with the Government. The Committee looks forward to the Government's information on the practical application of the provisions of the Medical Act.

3. In its previous comments the Committee asked for information on the observation of the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (in 1989) to the effect that in certain cases prisoners are requested to work on farms and in other places of employment arranged by the prison authorities and individual employers concerned.

The Committee notes the Government's information in its report that 30 prisoners are currently engaged in farm work at the Institute Pemulihan Dadah, which is a drug prison catering for inmates convicted under the Dangerous Drugs Act. They work on the project on their own accord and receive remuneration and are entitled to one-and-a-half days' rest. The Prisons Department has embarked on a new approach, that is, initiating a joint venture scheme with the private sector under which the Prisons Department provides the labour force (inmates) and workshop premises (within the prison) and private companies provide for the machinery, raw materials, technical expertise and are responsible for marketing and sale of products as well as for insurance coverage and regular salaries to the inmates. The Government indicates that the remuneration is the same as for outside work taking into consideration the number of hours worked. It is apportioned 50 per cent to the Government, 40 per cent to the inmate and 10 per cent to the special trust fund. The Government adds that this scheme has three main advantages, mainly: better remuneration for the inmates, better training opportunities in more marketable skills, as well as revenue for the Government and Prison Trust Fund. The Committee notes that the Government plans to amend the prison legislation so as to enable convicted prisoners to work in private firms/factories outside the prisons, voluntarily and with remuneration, similar to that received by outside factory workers.

The Committee recalls that Article 2, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention explicitly prohibits that persons from whom work is exacted as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law be placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations. These provisions of the Convention are not limited to work outside penitentiary establishments but apply equally in workshops operated by private undertakings inside prisons. Only work performed in conditions of a free employment relationship can be held not to be incompatible with this prohibition; this necessarily requires the formal consent of the person concerned and, in the light of the circumstances of that consent, guarantees and safeguards in respect of wages and social security that are such as to justify the labour relationship being regarded as a free one.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the formal consent of the prisoner is guaranteed, including any instructions or other texts to this effect, as well as detailed information on remunerations paid in comparison with those paid to free workers doing similar work. It also would appreciate if the Government would provide a copy of the existing agreement for the Pemulihan Dadah Institute and of the joint venture scheme, as well as of any agreement under this scheme.