Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1967)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and its annexes, as well as the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the National Confederation of Workers (CNT), dated 31 August 2011, which were forwarded to the Government on 6 and 15 September 2011, respectively.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Debt bondage of indigenous communities in the Chaco. For many years, the Committee’s comments have been addressing the situation of the many indigenous workers in agricultural ranches in the Paraguayan Chaco, who are victims of debt bondage. On the basis of several comments made by workers’ organizations, the discussion of this case by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in 2008 and the report Debt bondage and marginalization in the Chaco of Paraguay, prepared in the context of the technical assistance provided to Paraguay by the ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL), the Committee expressed concern at the mechanisms which result in the debt bondage of indigenous workers who are trapped in situations of forced labour. It also emphasized that the fact that these workers do not have any land increases their vulnerability.

In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government had taken a number of measures, including the creation of the Commission on Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labour (Resolution No. 230 of 27 March 2009), which developed an action plan including: awareness-raising activities and training for labour inspectors; the establishment of an office of the Department of Labour in the locality of Teniente Irala Fernandez (central Chaco); and the adoption with the support of the ILO of the Decent Work Country Programme, in which the eradication of forced labour is an important component. The Committee emphasized that these measures are a first step, but that they must be reinforced and lead to systematic action commensurate with the gravity of the problem.

In its latest report, the Government refers to the relief activities undertaken in the context of the National Programme for Indigenous Peoples (PRONAPI). PRONAPI also prepared a questionnaire intended to compile data on the living conditions of indigenous communities. The Government enumerates a number of awareness-raising activities undertaken in 2009 and 2011 by the Commission on Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labour, as well as the training activities for labour inspectors and workers’ and employers’ organizations. The latter Commission established a Subcommission in July 2011 in the Chaco region, the mandate of which includes receiving complaints concerning violations of labour rights, promoting the dissemination of fundamental rights at work and preparing a regional action plan on fundamental rights and the prevention of forced labour. The Subcommission met twice in 2011. The Government adds that, up to May 2011, the Ministry of Justice and Labour carried out over 50 inspections of agricultural ranches in the Chaco and that no situation of forced labour was detected. Minutes were drawn up and fines imposed for violations of labour legislation relating to the registration of workers and the payment of wages.

The Committee notes the comments of the Central Confederation of Workers-Authentic (CUT-A), forwarded by the ITUC. The CUT-A, based on interviews held with representatives of indigenous organizations of the Chaco, emphasizes that the problem of forced labour in agricultural ranches and factories in the Chaco persists, and that the State has not adopted effective measures to eliminate these practices. The trade union insists on: the marginalization of indigenous communities, which have been forgotten by the State; the system of permanent debt in which major agricultural enterprises keep workers from these communities, thereby preventing them from seeking alternatives; the discrimination of which these workers are victims, as they systematically receive wages that are lower than those of other workers and, in many cases, are not even paid half of the minimum wage; the corruption which prevents the public authorities from discharging their duties appropriately, including when dealing with complaints, and also prevents the restitution of ancestral lands; and the inadequacy of the resources available to the Ministry of Justice and Labour to protect indigenous communities.

The Committee notes all of this information. It observes that the activities undertaken up to now by the Commission on Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labour are mainly related to awareness raising, and that those carried out in the context of the PRONAPI are concerned with food self sufficiency. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts with a view to combating the forced labour of indigenous workers in the Chaco. It hopes that measures will be taken that will allow the Subcommission on Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labour in the Chaco region to adopt a regional plan of action to strengthen the measures taken by the various bodies involved in combating forced labour, both with regard to prevention and repression, and the protection of victims. It requests the Government to ensure that this plan responds to the situation of vulnerability of indigenous workers so as to protect them against the debt mechanisms that result in debt bondage. The Committee also refers the Government to the comments that it is making under the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169).

The Committee notes that a number of inspections have already been undertaken in the Chaco region and that none of them detected situations of forced labour. However, the Committee observes that, in their comments, the ITUC and the CNT and the CUT-A confirm the persistence of forced labour in the Chaco region. The Committee emphasizes the need to strengthen the labour inspectorate, and particularly the office of the Labour Department in the locality of Teniente Irala Fernandez as well as the Subcommission on Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labour in the Chaco region, the mandate of which includes receiving complaints concerning violations of labour rights. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that these bodies have at their disposal adequate human and material resources as well as access to appropriate training so as to identify victims and to enable them to assert their rights; deal effectively with the complaints received and conduct relevant investigations; and travel rapidly and effectively in the areas at risk.

Article 25. Imposition of effective penalties. The Committee emphasizes that the effective imposition of penalties in the event of violations of labour legislation is an essential element in combating forced labour, as it is characterized by the accumulation of several violations of labour law, which must be penalized as such. Moreover, taken together, these labour law violations constitute the criminal offence of forced labour, which must themselves be criminalized and give rise to penal sanctions.

(a) Administrative sanctions. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of cases in which the inspection services have detected infringements of sections 47, 176 and 231 of the Labour Code respecting the protection of wages, including with regard to compliance with the minimum wage and the operation of work stores. Please provide information on the fines imposed on employers and on the compensation granted to workers. The Committee refers in this respect to the comments made on the application of the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95).

(b) Penal sanctions. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that no complaint of forced labour has been made. The Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 25 of the Convention, penal sanctions must be imposed and strictly enforced upon those found guilty of the exaction of forced labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to raise the awareness of the Office of the Public Prosecutor with regard to the issue of debt bondage and to strengthen its cooperation with the labour inspection services in this respect. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the provisions of the penal legislation which may be used to prosecute persons exacting forced labour and, where appropriate, to ensure that the national legislation contains sufficiently precise provisions so that the competent authorities can criminally prosecute and penalize those responsible for such practices.

Article 2(2)(c). Obligation to work imposed on non-convicted detainees. For many years, the Committee has been emphasizing the need to amend the Act on the prison system (Act No. 210 of 1970), under the terms of which work in prison shall be compulsory for persons subjected to security measures in a prison establishment (section 39 read in conjunction with section 10 of the Act). The Committee recalled in this respect that, under the terms of Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention, only prisoners who have been convicted in a court of law may be subjected to the obligation to work. The Committee observes that in the past the Government indicated that the provisions of the Act on the prison system would be amended or repealed, first within the framework of the adoption of a Prison Code, then through the adoption of a new Code of Penal Procedure. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information in its latest report on the progress made in the adoption of a new Code of Penal Procedure. It has provided a copy of the internal rules of the Esperanza prison unit, to which only convicted prisoners are sent. As this matter has been the subject of the Committee’s comments for many years, the Committee trusts that the Government will not fail to take the necessary measures to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention by ensuring that prisoners awaiting judgment and persons detained without being convicted are not subject to the obligation to perform prison work. The Committee particularly emphasizes the need to amend the Act of 1970 on the prison system since, according to the information available on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Justice, of the 6,146 persons who are detained, only 1,772 have been convicted in a court of law.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.