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Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Sudan (RATIFICATION: 1970)

Article 1(d) of the Convention. Punishment for having participated in strikes. The Committee previously noted that, according to section 124 of the 1997 Labour Code, workers or officials should be forbidden from partially or totally stopping work. It also noted that sections 112, 119 and 120 of the Labour Code provided that labour disputes which could not be settled amicably within three weeks would be automatically referred to an arbitration body, whose decision would be final and without appeal. In this regard, section 126(2) of the Labour Code provides for a penalty of imprisonment, which might involve an obligation to work, of up to six months in cases of violation or refusal to apply the provisions of the Labour Code. The Committee noted the Government’s indication according to which a draft Labour Code was under examination. Recalling that no sanctions involving compulsory labour should be imposed upon a worker for the mere fact of peaceful participation in a strike, the Committee requested the Government to ensure, within the framework of the amendments to the Labour Code, that sections 124 and 126(2) of the Labour Code would be revised in conformity with the Convention.

The Government indicates in its report that, following the events of December 2018 which led to a new Government, all national laws will be reviewed. The Government states that it will report any progress made with regard to the Labour Code. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication, in its report formulated under the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), that the draft Labour Code is currently undergoing final revision by the Ministry and the social partners, following which it will be submitted to the Council of Ministers and Parliament. The Committee therefore firmly hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures, in the context of the final revision of the draft Labour Code, to ensure that legislation no longer provides for the possibility of imposing penalties involving compulsory prison labour for peaceful participation in strikes, as currently provided for in sections 124 and 126(2) of the Labour Code. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the new Labour Code, once adopted.

Supply of legislation. Noting that the Government did not provide any information regarding the Prison Act of 2015, the Committee once again requests it to provide a copy of the Prison Act of 2015 concerning the regulation of prisons. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the Cybercrime Act of 2020.