No. 105 - Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957

Provisions

• Ratifying states undertake to abolish any form of forced or compulsory labour:
  • as a means of political coercion or education or as punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system;
  • as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development;
  • as a means of labour discipline;
  • as a punishment for having participated in strikes; or
  • as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.
• Although there is some overlap, the scope is not identical with that of Convention 29.
• This Convention supplements Convention 29 in that it relates not to the nature of the labour imposed, but to the act being repressed.

Administered by

Department of Corrections

• Corrections Act 2004
• Corrections Regulations 2005
• Sentencing Act 2002

Ministry of Justice

• Crimes Act 1961
• Criminal Justice Act 1985
• Criminal Justice Regulations 1958
• Sentencing Act 2002

How New Zealand implements it

• New Zealand has not enacted any laws that specifically prohibit forced labour.
• Compliance with this Convention is dependent on various sanctions against illegal imprisonment or detention, on the entitlements of employees as specified in various Acts and collective agreements and on the absence of legislative provisions that permit forced labour.
• The New Zealand Government considers that inmate labour and community work are not compulsory labour for the purposes of this Convention, as they fall within the exception given in Article 2 of Convention 29.
• See Convention 29 for further details.

This Convention is applicable to Tokelau. However forced labour is not, and has not, been an issue in Tokelau.

Ratified - 14 June 1968

Total ratifications - 168

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