Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Togo (Ratification: 1960)

Article 2, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to provide copies of any texts setting out practical arrangements and regulations for prison labour which may have been adopted pursuant to sections 22, 26 and 35(3) of the Penal Code of 1980.

In its last comment, the Committee noted that no such texts had been adopted but that the Government was planning enactment of the following, pursuant to the provisions of the Penal Code of 1980:

(a)  a decree to establish the working conditions of prisoners and the disciplinary regulations of the establishment;

(b)  an order to establish the working conditions, supervision and employment of convicted prisoners; and

(c)  an order to establish the employment and working arrangements of persons sentenced to penal labour.

The Committee expressed the hope that the above text would be drafted in compliance with the conditions set forth in Article 2, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention, that is, only persons convicted in a court of law may be subjected to compulsory labour and, furthermore, these persons must not be hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations, either inside or outside prisons. However, the Committee also recalled that, as noted in paragraph 97 of its General Survey of 1979 on the abolition of forced labour, the Convention is not opposed to allowing certain prisoners the possibility of voluntarily accepting employment with private employers, subject to guarantees as to the payment of normal wages and social security, etc.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its last report that it undertakes to provide the adopted texts shortly. The Government also states that pre trial and other prisoners not convicted by a court of law are not compelled to perform any work other than the cleaning of cells.

The Committee takes due note of this information and asks the Government to provide copies of the texts in force governing the execution of penalties and the regulation of prison labour, and copies of the new texts as soon as they have been adopted.

Authority to requisition in the event of a strike. The Committee notes that section 7 of Ordinance No. 1 of 4 January 1968 issuing the General Public Service Regulations allows the Government to requisition public servants individually or in a group and stipulates that the authority to requisition must not be a means of opposing a strike by public servants in order to eliminate their claims. The Committee asks the Government to provide copies of the texts regulating the authority to requisition together with information on the penalties imposed for refusing to obey a requisition order.

Freedom of workers to leave their jobs. According to sections 105 and 106 of Ordinance No. 1 of 4 January 1968, an application to resign by a public servant will be accepted only if it has the agreement of the appointing authority. Refusals may be challenged before the Joint Administrative Committee, which sends a reasoned opinion to the competent authority for decision. The Committee observes that there is no provision which sets the criteria for refusal or a time limit for the decision. Nor is there any reference to the available means of challenging the decision of the above authority. The Committee observes that any termination of appointment exposes the public official to revocation and suspension of pension entitlements, which constitutes a penalty within the meaning of Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

In its General Survey of 1979 on the abolition of forced labour, the Committee considered that the effect of statutory provisions preventing termination of employment of indefinite duration by means of notice of reasonable length is to turn a contractual relationship based on the will of the parties into service by compulsion of law, and is thus incompatible with the Conventions relating to forced labour.

The Committee acts the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that public servants are free to leave their employment by means of notice of reasonable length.

Article 2, paragraph 1. The Committee notes the summary report of the subregional project of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC/ILO, 2001) entitled "Combating trafficking in children for labour exploitation in West and Central Africa". According to this report, the Government started to tackle child trafficking three years ago. Special programmes to combat such trafficking are being implemented. The report on Togo indicates that 70 children repatriated to Togo after being sold abroad were between 6 and 14 years of age, and that 70 per cent of them were girls. Where girls have been the victims of such trafficking, they were younger than the boys: 88 per cent of the girls were under 15 years of age whereas 62 per cent of the boys were over 15. The girls who were repatriated had worked as servants in small restaurants in Niger or Burkina Faso and as itinerant traders, waitresses or servants in Gabon. In Togo the intermediaries entice the children by giving them a bicycle or a radio by way of payment. Togo is a receiving country for child trafficking and Togolese children are also victims of trafficking. The abovementioned report indicates that Togo has drafted a bill establishing a minimum age for the placement of children and punishing such trafficking. A national action plan was prepared in March 1999 by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which had also issued a directive on child trafficking in January 1998. The above report on Togo indicates that an agreement was signed in October 1984 between Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Togo to facilitate the return of the victims of child trafficking and the extradition of the traffickers. Special programmes have been set up to combat child trafficking. The ILO/IPEC is on the point of starting programmes in Togo.

Article 25. According to Article 25 of the Convention, the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence and any Member ratifying the Convention must ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced. The Committee observes that, according to the Government’s report, no proceedings have been initiated to punish persons responsible for trafficking in children for labour exploitation. The Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the law establishing a minimum age for the placement of children and punishing child trafficking if it has been adopted, and a copy of the directive on child trafficking. Please also provide information on the evaluation of the national action plan of March 1999, the programmes to combat child trafficking and the agreement of 1984. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the legal proceedings instituted against those responsible and the penalties imposed.