Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Singapore (Ratification: 1965)

The Committee notes that no report has been received from the Government. It must therefore repeat its previous observation on the following matter:

The Committee noted the detailed explanations supplied by the Government in its report for the period ending 30 June 1991 in response to the Committee's previous comments. The Committee had noted that the Destitute Persons Act, 1989, repeated without change some provisions of sections on which it had been commenting for several years. Under sections 3 and 16 of the new Act, any indigent person may be required, subject to penal sanctions, to reside in a Welfare Home, and under section 13 of the same Act any person resident in such a Home may be required to engage in any suitable work. The Committee noted in this connection that, according to the Government, Welfare Homes were meant for the rehabilitation of destitute persons who could not fend for themselves, and that they were not penal institutions. The Government stated that it was not mandatory for residents in such Homes to work. Moreover, work in such Homes was intended either to prepare the person concerned for employment, in which case the salary and working conditions prevailing in the market applied to work done outside the Home, or as a contribution, for a few hours a day, to maintenance in the Home. The Government explained that the Destitute Persons Act was designed to provide shelter for homeless persons and those without means of subsistence. In August 1991 three Welfare Homes were housing 1,431 residents, 433 of whom were participating in the Home Employment Programme and 221 in the Day Release Programme. While appreciative of the Government's efforts to assist the persons concerned, the Committee noted that the terms of the Act were highly coercive; it pointed out that compliance with the Convention required that the admittance of destitute persons to a Welfare Home and their stay therein should be subject to their consent and that any work in such Homes should be done voluntarily both de jure and de facto. The Committee again expresses the hope that the necessary measures will be taken to bring the law into conformity with the Convention; it asks the Government to continue supplying detailed information on the practical application of the provisions concerning Welfare Homes.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.