Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes the Government’s latest report and observes with regret that it does not contain any reply to the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) on the application of the Convention. The Committee notes that these comments were forwarded to the Government in November 2002. In view of the seriousness of the comments, the Committee requests the Government to communicate its reply with its next report to be provided in 2005, taking particular account of the following matters.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Situation of Haitian workers in sugar cane plantations. In its comments, the ICFTU indicates that Haitian workers in sugar cane plantations often work under conditions approximating slavery as they have no legal status in the country and are totally at the mercy of their employer. Several reports indicate that the clothing and property of these workers are kept locked up and their wages retained so that they cannot leave. According to the ICFTU, these workers are in constant fear of being deported or suffering violence from the authorities and are subjected to deplorable living and working conditions, without any means of recourse.

The Committee has on several occasions expressed concern at the conditions governing the hiring and work of Haitian workers in sugar cane plantations and it requested the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in the regularization of the status of Haitian nationals working and living in the Dominican Republic so that they benefit from the necessary guarantees to be able to choose their employment and working conditions freely. The Committee considered that the uncertainty related to the legal status of these workers, to whom the authorities did not grant residence or work permits and who could therefore be expelled at any time, placed them in a situation of vulnerability which facilitated abuse and practices which impair the rights protected by the Convention.

The Committee notes that, following the adoption of Act No. 141-97 reforming public enterprises, the executive authorities have authorized the concession of sugar plantations to private enterprises, following international tenders. The ten state sugar companies which were administered by the State Sugar Board (CEA) were conceded to private enterprises in 1999. However, the Committee understands that the State recently took back control of three sugar companies with a view to undertaking a rehabilitation, diversification and development project of the state sugar industry with the objective of producing fuel and electrical power from sugar cane, a project formulated with the participation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). With a view to ascertaining that no form of forced labour is practised in sugar cane plantations, whether they are the property of the State or of private entrepreneurs, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the situation of Haitian workers employed there, and particularly on the conditions under which they are hired, the nature of their contracts, the manner in which their wages are determined and paid, etc. It would also be grateful if the Government would provide copies of reports relating to inspections carried out in plantations so that it can assess the manner in which the labour legislation is applied, the number and nature of the infringements reported and the penalties imposed as a result.

Article 2, paragraph 1. The trafficking of persons. In its comments, the ICFTU indicates that the trafficking of women and children with a view to their prostitution is a serious problem. Trafficking takes on several forms: women are victims of trafficking with a view to prostitution in other Latin American and European countries; women and children are the victims of trafficking with a view to their prostitution within the country; and women and children are removed from Haiti to the Dominican Republic to engage in begging. The ICFTU adds that there are severe penalties for the trafficking of persons and that the Government has made progress in its effort to eliminate the trafficking of persons, but that this practice remains widespread.

The Committee notes in this respect that Act No. 137-03 on the smuggling of migrants and the trafficking of persons entered into force on 7 August 2003. It notes with interest that, under the terms of section 3, the trafficking of persons is penalized by a sentence of imprisonment of between 15 and 20 years and a fine of 175 times the minimum wage. The Act also contains provisions on the assistance and protection that has to be provided to the victims of trafficking (advice, information on rights, accommodation, medical care, access to education, training and employment) and the measures which have to be taken to prevent the phenomenon of trafficking (implementation of policies, plans and programmes, development of national and international cooperation). The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the extent of the phenomenon of the trafficking of persons in the Dominican Republic and the manner in which Act No. 137-03 is applied in practice. In particular, please provide information on any difficulties encountered by the public authorities in combating the trafficking of persons and, where appropriate, the measures adopted to resolve them, as well as on the number of persons prosecuted and penalized under section 3 of the Act, and on the plans or programmes which have been adopted to prevent the trafficking of persons.

The Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government on another point.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2005.]