"In accordance with the Joint
Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the
Government of the Republic of Portugal on the Question of Macao (hereinafter
referred to as the Joint Declaration), the Government of the People's Republic
of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Macao with effect from 20
December 1999. Macao will, from that date, become a Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic of China and will enjoy a high degree of autonomy,
except in foreign and defence affairs which are the responsibilities of the
Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China.
It is provided both in section VIII of
Elaboration by the Government of the People's Republic of China of its Basic
Policies Regarding Macao, which is Annex I to the Joint Declaration, and
Article 138 of the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the
People's Republic of China, which was adopted on 31 March 1993 by the National
People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, that international
agreements to which the People's Republic of China is not yet a party but which
are implemented in Macao may continue to be implemented in the Macao Special
Administrative Region.
In accordance with the above provisions, I
am instructed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of
China to inform Your Excellency of the following:
Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory
Labor (No. 29), adopted at Geneva on 28 June 1930 (hereinafter referred to as
the "Convention"), which applies to Macao at present, will continue
to apply to the Macao Special Administrative Region with effect from 20
December 1999.
Within the above ambit, the Government of
the People's Republic of China will assume the responsibility for the
international rights and obligations that place on a Party to the Convention."
Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour
(ILO No. 29)
(Adopted at Geneva on 28 June 1930)
The General
Conference of the International Labour Organisation,
Having been
convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office,
and having met in its Fourteenth Session on 10 June 1930, and
Having decided upon
the adoption of certain proposals with regard to forced or compulsory labour,
which is included in the first item on the agenda of the Session, and
Having determined
that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention,
adopts this
twenty-eighth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty the
following Convention, which may be cited as the Forced Labour Convention, 1930,
for ratification by the Members of the International Labour Organisation in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the International Labour
Organisation:
Article 1
1. Each Member of
the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention undertakes
to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the
shortest possible period.
2. With a view to
this complete suppression, recourse to forced or compulsory labour may be had,
during the transitional period, for public purposes only and as an exceptional
measure, subject to the conditions and guarantees hereinafter provided.
3. At the
expiration of a period of five years after the coming into force of this
Convention, and when the Governing Body of the International Labour Office
prepares the report provided for in Article 31 below, the said Governing Body
shall consider the possibility of the suppression of forced or compulsory
labour in all its forms without a further transitional period and the
desirability of placing this question on the agenda of the Conference.
Article 2
1. For the purposes
of this Convention the term forced or compulsory labour shall
mean all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of
any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.
2. Nevertheless,
for the purposes of this Convention, the term forced or compulsory labour
shall not include--
(a) any work or
service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a
purely military character;
(b) any work or
service which forms part of the normal civic obligations of the citizens of a
fully self-governing country;
(c) any work or
service exacted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of
law, provided that the said work or service is carried out under the
supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not
hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or
associations;
(d) any work or
service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say, in the event of war or
of a calamity or threatened calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake,
violent epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by animal, insect or vegetable
pests, and in general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the
well-being of the whole or part of the population;
(e) minor communal
services of a kind which, being performed by the members of the community in
the direct interest of the said community, can therefore be considered as
normal civic obligations incumbent upon the members of the community, provided
that the members of the community or their direct representatives shall have
the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services.
Article 3
For the purposes of
this Convention the term competent authority shall mean either an
authority of the metropolitan country or the highest central authority in the
territory concerned.
Article 4
1. The competent
authority shall not impose or permit the imposition of forced or compulsory
labour for the benefit of private individuals, companies or associations.
2. Where such
forced or compulsory labour for the benefit of private individuals, companies
or associations exists at the date on which a Member's ratification of this
Convention is registered by the Director-General of the International Labour
Office, the Member shall completely suppress such forced or compulsory labour
from the date on which this Convention comes into force for that Member.
Article 5
1. No concession
granted to private individuals, companies or associations shall involve any
form of forced or compulsory labour for the production or the collection of
products which such private individuals, companies or associations utilise or
in which they trade.
2. Where
concessions exist containing provisions involving such forced or compulsory
labour, such provisions shall be rescinded as soon as possible, in order to
comply with Article 1 of this Convention.
Article 6
Officials of the
administration, even when they have the duty of encouraging the populations
under their charge to engage in some form of labour, shall not put constraint
upon the said populations or upon any individual members thereof to work for
private individuals, companies or associations.
Article 7
1. Chiefs who do
not exercise administrative functions shall not have recourse to forced or
compulsory labour.
2. Chiefs who
exercise administrative functions may, with the express permission of the
competent authority, have recourse to forced or compulsory labour, subject to
the provisions of Article 10 of this Convention.
3. Chiefs who are
duly recognised and who do not receive adequate remuneration in other forms may
have the enjoyment of personal services, subject to due regulation and provided
that all necessary measures are taken to prevent abuses.
Article 8
1. The
responsibility for every decision to have recourse to forced or compulsory
labour shall rest with the highest civil authority in the territory concerned.
2. Nevertheless,
that authority may delegate powers to the highest local authorities to exact
forced or compulsory labour which does not involve the removal of the workers
from their place of habitual residence. That authority may also delegate, for
such periods and subject to such conditions as may be laid down in the
regulations provided for in Article 23 of this Convention, powers to the
highest local authorities to exact forced or compulsory labour which involves
the removal of the workers from their place of habitual residence for the
purpose of facilitating the movement of officials of the administration, when
on duty, and for the transport of Government stores.
Article 9
Except as otherwise
provided for in Article 10 of this Convention, any authority competent to exact
forced or compulsory labour shall, before deciding to have recourse to such
labour, satisfy itself--
(a) that the work
to be done or the service to be rendered is of important direct interest for
the community called upon to do work or render the service;
(b) that the work
or service is of present or imminent necessity;
(c) that it has
been impossible to obtain voluntary labour for carrying out the work or
rendering the service by the offer of rates of wages and conditions of labour
not less favourable than those prevailing in the area concerned for similar
work or service; and
(d) that the work
or service will not lay too heavy a burden upon the present population, having
regard to the labour available and its capacity to undertake the work.
Article 10
1. Forced or
compulsory labour exacted as a tax and forced or compulsory labour to which
recourse is had for the execution of public works by chiefs who exercise
administrative functions shall be progressively abolished.
2. Meanwhile, where
forced or compulsory labour is exacted as a tax, and where recourse is had to
forced or compulsory labour for the execution of public works by chiefs who
exercise administrative functions, the authority concerned shall first satisfy
itself--
(a) that the work
to be done or the service to be rendered is of important direct interest for
the community called upon to do the work or render the service;
(b) that the work or
the service is of present or imminent necessity;
(c) that the work
or service will not lay too heavy a burden upon the present population, having
regard to the labour available and its capacity to undertake the work;
(d) that the work
or service will not entail the removal of the workers from their place of
habitual residence;
(e) that the
execution of the work or the rendering of the service will be directed in
accordance with the exigencies of religion, social life and agriculture.
Article 11
1. Only adult
able-bodied males who are of an apparent age of not less than 18 and not more
than 45 years may be called upon for forced or compulsory labour. Except in
respect of the kinds of labour provided for in Article 10 of this Convention,
the following limitations and conditions shall apply:
(a) whenever
possible prior determination by a medical officer appointed by the
administration that the persons concerned are not suffering from any infectious
or contagious disease and that they are physically fit for the work required
and for the conditions under which it is to be carried out;
(b) exemption of
school teachers and pupils and officials of the administration in general;
(c) the maintenance
in each community of the number of adult able-bodied men indispensable for
family and social life;
(d) respect for
conjugal and family ties.
2. For the purposes
of subparagraph (c) of the preceding paragraph, the regulations provided for in
Article 23 of this Convention shall fix the proportion of the resident adult
able-bodied males who may be taken at any one time for forced or compulsory
labour, provided always that this proportion shall in no case exceed 25 per
cent. In fixing this proportion the competent authority shall take account of
the density of the population, of its social and physical development, of the
seasons, and of the work which must be done by the persons concerned on their
own behalf in their locality, and, generally, shall have regard to the economic
and social necessities of the normal life of the community concerned.
Article 12
1. The maximum
period for which any person may be taken for forced or compulsory labour of all
kinds in any one period of twelve months shall not exceed sixty days, including
the time spent in going to and from the place of work.
2. Every person
from whom forced or compulsory labour is exacted shall be furnished with a
certificate indicating the periods of such labour which he has completed.
Article 13
1. The normal
working hours of any person from whom forced or compulsory labour is exacted
shall be the same as those prevailing in the case of voluntary labour, and the
hours worked in excess of the normal working hours shall be remunerated at the
rates prevailing in the case of overtime for voluntary labour.
2. A weekly day of
rest shall be granted to all persons from whom forced or compulsory labour of
any kind is exacted and this day shall coincide as far as possible with the day
fixed by tradition or custom in the territories or regions concerned.
Article 14
1. With the
exception of the forced or compulsory labour provided for in Article 10 of this
Convention, forced or compulsory labour of all kinds shall be remunerated in
cash at rates not less than those prevailing for similar kinds of work either
in the district in which the labour is employed or in the district from which
the labour is recruited, whichever may be the higher.
2. In the case of
labour to which recourse is had by chiefs in the exercise of their
administrative functions, payment of wages in accordance with the provisions of
the preceding paragraph shall be introduced as soon as possible.
3. The wages shall
be paid to each worker individually and not to his tribal chief or to any other
authority.
4. For the purpose
of payment of wages the days spent in travelling to and from the place of work
shall be counted as working days.
5. Nothing in this
Article shall prevent ordinary rations being given as a part of wages, such
rations to be at least equivalent in value to the money payment they are taken
to represent, but deductions from wages shall not be made either for the
payment of taxes or for special food, clothing or accommodation supplied to a
worker for the purpose of maintaining him in a fit condition to carry on his
work under the special conditions of any employment, or for the supply of
tools.
Article 15
1. Any laws or
regulations relating to workmen's compensation for accidents or sickness
arising out of the employment of the worker and any laws or regulations
providing compensation for the dependants of deceased or incapacitated workers
which are or shall be in force in the territory concerned shall be equally
applicable to persons from whom forced or compulsory labour is exacted and to
voluntary workers.
2. In any case it
shall be an obligation on any authority employing any worker on forced or
compulsory labour to ensure the subsistence of any such worker who, by accident
or sickness arising out of his employment, is rendered wholly or partially
incapable of providing for himself, and to take measures to ensure the
maintenance of any persons actually dependent upon such a worker in the event
of his incapacity or decease arising out of his employment.
Article 16
1. Except in cases
of special necessity, persons from whom forced or compulsory labour is exacted
shall not be transferred to districts where the food and climate differ so
considerably from those to which they have been accustomed as to endanger their
health.
2. In no case shall
the transfer of such workers be permitted unless all measures relating to
hygiene and accommodation which are necessary to adapt such workers to the
conditions and to safeguard their health can be strictly applied.
3. When such
transfer cannot be avoided, measures of gradual habituation to the new conditions
of diet and of climate shall be adopted on competent medical advice.
4. In cases where
such workers are required to perform regular work to which they are not
accustomed, measures shall be taken to ensure their habituation to it,
especially as regards progressive training, the hours of work and the provision
of rest intervals, and any increase or amelioration of diet which may be
necessary.
Article 17
Before permitting
recourse to forced or compulsory labour for works of construction or maintenance
which entail the workers remaining at the workplaces for considerable periods,
the competent authority shall satisfy itself--
(1) that all
necessary measures are taken to safeguard the health of the workers and to
guarantee the necessary medical care, and, in particular, (a) that the workers
are medically examined before commencing the work and at fixed intervals during
the period of service, (b) that there is an adequate medical staff, provided
with the dispensaries, infirmaries, hospitals and equipment necessary to meet
all requirements, and (c) that the sanitary conditions of the workplaces, the
supply of drinking water, food, fuel, and cooking utensils, and, where
necessary, of housing and clothing, are satisfactory;
(2) that definite
arrangements are made to ensure the subsistence of the families of the workers,
in particular by facilitating the remittance, by a safe method, of part of the
wages to the family, at the request or with the consent of the workers;
(3) that the
journeys of the workers to and from the workplaces are made at the expense and
under the responsibility of the administration, which shall facilitate such
journeys by making the fullest use of all available means of transport;
(4) that, in case
of illness or accident causing incapacity to work of a certain duration, the
worker is repatriated at the expense of the administration;
(5) that any worker
who may wish to remain as a voluntary worker at the end of his period of forced
or compulsory labour is permitted to do so without, for a period of two years,
losing his right to repatriation free of expense to himself.
Article 18
1. Forced or
compulsory labour for the transport of persons or goods, such as the labour of
porters or boatmen, shall be abolished within the shortest possible period.
Meanwhile the competent authority shall promulgate regulations determining,
inter alia, (a) that such labour shall only be employed for the purpose of
facilitating the movement of officials of the administration, when on duty, or
for the transport of Government stores, or, in cases of very urgent necessity,
the transport of persons other than officials, (b) that the workers so employed
shall be medically certified to be physically fit, where medical examination is
possible, and that where such medical examination is not practicable the person
employing such workers shall be held responsible for ensuring that they are
physically fit and not suffering from any infectious or contagious disease, (c)
the maximum load which these workers may carry, (d) the maximum distance from
their homes to which they may be taken, (e) the maximum number of days per
month or other period for which they may be taken, including the days spent in
returning to their homes, and (f) the persons entitled to demand this form of
forced or compulsory labour and the extent to which they are entitled to demand
it.
2. In fixing the
maxima referred to under (c), (d) and (e) in the foregoing paragraph, the
competent authority shall have regard to all relevant factors, including the physical
development of the population from which the workers are recruited, the nature
of the country through which they must travel and the climatic conditions.
3. The competent
authority shall further provide that the normal daily journey of such workers
shall not exceed a distance corresponding to an average working day of eight
hours, it being understood that account shall be taken not only of the weight
to be carried and the distance to be covered, but also of the nature of the
road, the season and all other relevant factors, and that, where hours of
journey in excess of the normal daily journey are exacted, they shall be
remunerated at rates higher than the normal rates.
Article 19
1. The competent
authority shall only authorise recourse to compulsory cultivation as a method
of precaution against famine or a deficiency of food supplies and always under
the condition that the food or produce shall remain the property of the
individuals or the community producing it.
2. Nothing in this
Article shall be construed as abrogating the obligation on members of a
community, where production is organised on a communal basis by virtue of law
or custom and where the produce or any profit accruing from the sale thereof
remain the property of the community, to perform the work demanded by the
community by virtue of law or custom.
Article 20
Collective
punishment laws under which a community may be punished for crimes committed by
any of its members shall not contain provisions for forced or compulsory labour
by the community as one of the methods of punishment.
Article 21
Forced or
compulsory labour shall not be used for work underground in mines.
Article 22
The annual reports
that Members which ratify this Convention agree to make to the International
Labour Office, pursuant to the provisions of Article 22 of the Constitution of
the International Labour Organisation, on the measures they have taken to give
effect to the provisions of this Convention, shall contain as full information
as possible, in respect of each territory concerned, regarding the extent to
which recourse has been had to forced or compulsory labour in that territory,
the purposes for which it has been employed, the sickness and death rates,
hours of work, methods of payment of wages and rates of wages, and any other
relevant information.
Article 23
1. To give effect
to the provisions of this Convention the competent authority shall issue
complete and precise regulations governing the use of forced or compulsory
labour.
2. These
regulations shall contain, inter alia, rules permitting any person from whom
forced or compulsory labour is exacted to forward all complaints relative to
the conditions of labour to the authorities and ensuring that such complaints
will be examined and taken into consideration.
Article 24
Adequate measures
shall in all cases be taken to ensure that the regulations governing the
employment of forced or compulsory labour are strictly applied, either by
extending the duties of any existing labour inspectorate which has been
established for the inspection of voluntary labour to cover the inspection of
forced or compulsory labour or in some other appropriate manner. Measures shall
also be taken to ensure that the regulations are brought to the knowledge of
persons from whom such labour is exacted.
Article 25
The illegal
exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence,
and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure
that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly
enforced.
Article 26
1. Each Member of
the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention undertakes
to apply it to the territories placed under its sovereignty, jurisdiction,
protection, suzerainty, tutelage or authority, so far as it has the right to
accept obligations affecting matters of internal jurisdiction; provided that,
if such Member may desire to take advantage of the provisions of article 35 of
the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, it shall append to
its ratification a declaration stating--
(1) the territories
to which it intends to apply the provisions of this Convention without
modification;
(2) the territories
to which it intends to apply the provisions of this Convention with
modifications, together with details of the said modifications;
(3) the territories
in respect of which it reserves its decision.
2. The aforesaid
declaration shall be deemed to be an integral part of the ratification and
shall have the force of ratification. It shall be open to any Member, by a
subsequent declaration, to cancel in whole or in part the reservations made, in
pursuance of the provisions of subparagraphs (2) and (3) of this Article, in
the original declaration.
Article 27
The formal ratifications
of this Convention under the conditions set forth in the Constitution of the
International Labour Organisation shall be communicated to the Director-General
of the International Labour Office for registration.
Article 28
1. This Convention
shall be binding only upon those Members whose ratifications have been
registered with the International Labour Office.
2. It shall come
into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two
Members of the International Labour Organisation have been registered with the
Director-General.
3. Thereafter, this
Convention shall come into force for any Member twelve months after the date on
which the ratification has been registered.
Article 29
As soon as the
ratifications of two Members of the International Labour Organisation have been
registered with the International Labour Office, the Director-General of the
International Labour Office shall so notify all the Members of the
International Labour Organisation. He shall likewise notify them of the
registration of ratifications which may be communicated subsequently by other
Members of the Organisation.
Article 30
1. A Member which
has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years
from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act
communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for
registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the
date on which it is registered with the International Labour Office.
2. Each Member
which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year
following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article,
will be bound for another period of five years and, thereafter, may denounce
this Convention at the expiration of each period of five years under the terms
provided for in this Article.
Article 31
At such times as it
may consider necessary the Governing Body of the International Labour Office
shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this
Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the
Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.
Article 32
1. Should the
Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part,
the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure
involve denunciation of this Convention without any requirement of delay,
notwithstanding the provisions of Article 30 above, if and when the new
revising Convention shall have come into force.
2. As from the date
of the coming into force of the new revising Convention, the present Convention
shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
3. Nevertheless,
this Convention shall remain in force in its actual form and content for those
Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising convention.
Article 33
The French and
English texts of this Convention shall both be authentic.