Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Russian Federation (Ratification: 1956)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Russian Federation (Ratification: 2019)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR), received on 30 September 2019.

Articles 1(2) and 2(1) of the Convention. Vulnerable situation of migrant workers to the exaction of forced labour. The Committee notes that, according to the observations of the Confederation of Labour of Russia, migrant workers are at increased risk of falling into forced labour. For example, forced labour practices occurred in grocery stores in a district of Moscow, with victims from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, mostly women, who were subjected not only to labour exploitation but also to sexual exploitation and abuse. The KTR indicates that no action has been taken by law enforcement agencies to put an end to such practices. As a result, two victims filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in 2016. The Committee requests the Government to respond to the observations of the KTR in this regard.

Article 2(2)(c). Prison labour. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that section 103 of the Code on the Execution of Penal Sentences provides that convicted persons are under an obligation to perform labour, such labour being exacted from them by the administration of penitentiary institutions at enterprises of such institutions, at state enterprises, or at enterprises of other forms of ownership. The Committee also noted that pursuant to section 21 of Act No. 5473 I (21 July 1993) on the institutions and bodies for the execution of penal sentences involving deprivation of freedom, compulsory labour may be exacted from convicted prisoners at enterprises of any organizational or legal form, even if such enterprises do not belong to the system of the execution of penal sentences and are located outside of penitentiary institutions. In the latter case, compulsory labour will be exacted on the basis of a contract concluded between the administration of penitentiary institutions and the enterprises concerned. Regarding the conditions of work of convicted prisoners, the Committee noted that, under sections 103–105 of the Code on the Execution of Penal Sentences, their hours of work and rest periods, occupational safety and health, as well as remuneration are governed by the general labour legislation. In this regard, the Committee observed that while prisoners’ conditions of work may therefore be considered as approximating those of a free labour relationship, the legislation does not require the free, informed and formal consent of prisoners to work for private enterprises.

The Committee notes that, according to the observations of the KTR, recent changes in Russian legislation, introduced by Federal Act No. 179-FZ of 18 July 2019 on amendments to the Penal Enforcement Code of the Russian Federation, allow the establishment of branches of correctional centres at enterprises and large construction sites. The Committee notes the absence, in the Government’s report, of new information regarding the consent of prisoners to work for private enterprises. It once again recalls that Article 2(2)(c) of the Convention strictly prohibits prisoners from being hired to or placed at the disposal of private enterprises. The work of prisoners for private companies is only compatible with the Convention where it does not involve compulsory labour, which requires the formal, freely given and informed consent of the persons concerned. Noting that the legislation allows work to be carried out by prisoners for private enterprises, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that this work is only permitted with the voluntary consent of the prisoners concerned, such consent being formal, informed and free from the menace of any penalty, including the loss of rights or privileges. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of prisoners working for private enterprises and the nature of those enterprises, as well as on the procedures established to obtain their free and informed consent to undertake such work. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in this regard.

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