1. Employers shall not engage in or support the use of forced labour, prison labour, bonded or indentured labour. Employees shall not be required to lodge ‘deposits’ or original identity documents with their employer upon commencing employment nor shall employers permit or encourage workers to incur debt through recruitment fees, fines, loans or, other means.
2. Employees shall have the right to leave the workplace after their shift.
3. Family members of employees living on the premises of, as per the provisions of the Extended Security of Tenure Act, and working for an employer, shall not be prevented from taking work off farm.
4. Spouses or cohabiting partners, parents or children of employees living on the premises of and working for any employer shall have their own individual contracts of employment.
5. Spouses and dependents of employees are not occupiers in their own right. Their right derives through the employee and thus they are not required to work in return for the right to reside with the employee. Their right to reside with the employee terminates upon termination of the employee’s right as an occupier, unless they have an independent agreement deriving from their own employment contract with the owner of the land.
6. Employers shall ensure that disciplinary procedures clearly set out that any form of forced or bonded labour as a disciplinary measure shall not be tolerated.
7. Bonded labour as a disciplinary measure shall not be tolerated.
References
South African Legislation
Constitution of the RSA, 1996:
- Section 13 Provides that no one may be subjected to forced labour.
- Section 9 provides that everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. Section 21 provides that everyone has the right to freedom of movement.
- Section 22 provides that every citizen has the right to choose their trade, occupation or profession freely (and as regulated by law). Section 28 provides that children have the right to family care and that the child’s best interests are of paramount importance.
Basic Conditions of Employment Act:
- Section 48 prohibits forced labour and no one may for his or her own benefit or benefit someone else, cause, demand or impose forced labour.
- BCEA SD 13: Sub-clauses 1 and 2 of clause 25 of Part F repeat the legislation.
Extended Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997
International Reference
- ILO Convention C029 – Forced Labour Convention, 1930
- ILO Convention – Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957