Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Algeria (Ratification: 1962)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Civil service. For a number of years the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the incompatibility with the Convention of sections 32, 33, 34 and 38 of Act No. 84-10 of 11 February 1984 concerning civil service, as amended and supplemented by Act No. 86-11 of 19 August 1986 and by Act No. 06-15 of 14 November 2006, under which it is possible to require persons who have completed a course of higher education or training to perform a period of civil service ranging from one to four years before being able to exercise an occupation or obtain employment.

The Committee also previously noted that, under sections 32 and 38 of the Act, any refusal to perform civil service and the resignation of the person concerned without valid reason results in the prohibition on their exercising an activity on their own account, and that any infringement will incur the penalties laid down in section 243 of the Penal Code (imprisonment ranging from three months to two years and/or a fine of between 500 and 5,000 dinars). Similarly, under sections 33 and 34 of the Act, all private employers are required to satisfy themselves before engaging any workers that applicants are not subject to civil service or can produce documentation proving that they have completed it. Furthermore, any private employer who knowingly employs a citizen who has evaded civil service is liable to imprisonment and a fine. Hence, even though persons liable to civil service enjoy conditions of work (remuneration, seniority, promotion, retirement, etc.) similar to those of regular public sector workers, they perform this service under threat since, in the event of any refusal, they are denied access to any self-employed occupational activity or employment in the private sector. This means that civil service falls within the concept of compulsory labour within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Convention. Moreover, since it consists of a contribution by the persons concerned to the economic development of the country, this compulsory service is also incompatible with Article 1(b) of the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), which has also been ratified by Algeria.

The Committee further noted that under section 2 of Ordinance No. 06-06 of 15 July 2006, civil service may be performed in private-sector health establishments in accordance with arrangements set forth by regulation. The Committee reminds the Government that, according to Paragraph 3(3) of the Special Youth Schemes Recommendation, 1970 (No. 136), the services of participants should not be used for the advantage of private persons or enterprises.

In its last report the Government indicates that civil service concerns only doctors specializing in public health and that this was established in response to the need to bring essential specialists’ care to the populations of isolated regions who have no access to it. Moreover, the Government indicates that, at the National Conference on Hospital Reform Policy (February 2011), discussions were held concerning the abolition of civil service for these doctors, and that the ultimate goal would be to leave them free to choose whether to exercise their profession in the public, private or semi-public sector.

While noting this information, the Committee expresses the strong hope that the necessary measures will be taken to repeal or amend the provisions of Act No. 84-10 of 11 February 1984 concerning civil service in the light of Conventions Nos 29 and 105, and that the Government will soon be in a position to report on the measures adopted in this respect.

Referring to Ordinance No. 06-06 of 15 July 2006, amending and complementing Act No. 84-10 of 11 February 1984 concerning civil service, the Committee reiterates the hope that the necessary measures will be taken to repeal or amend the provisions imposing civil service on specialized doctors. Pending such legislative amendments, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of persons and establishments concerned with regard to civil service, the length of service, and the conditions of work of the persons concerned.

Article 2(2)(a). National service. For a number of years the Committee has been referring to Ordinance No. 74-103 of 15 November 1974 issuing the National Service Code and the Order of 1 July 1987, under which conscripts are required to take part in the running of various sectors of the economy and administration. The Committee observed that they are further required to perform civil service for a period ranging from one to four years, as referred to above. The Committee recalled that, under the terms of Article 2(2)(a) of the Convention, compulsory military service is excluded from the scope of the Convention only where conscripts are assigned to work of a purely military character.

The Committee noted the Government’s indication in its previous report that the civil modality of national service had not been used since 2001. The Government explained that this de facto suspension would be reflected in law as soon as the reform of the National Service Code was placed on the agenda. As the Government has not provided any information on this point, the Committee hopes that it will be in a position to send information in its next report on any developments in this matter showing that national law has been aligned with practice and hence with the provisions of the Convention, and to provide copies of the relevant texts.

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