Forced labor is the performance of any work under the threat of punishment, this is a gross violation of human rights and freedoms. Its mass use occurred in the middle of the 20th century. The governments of many countries and international organizations have been actively combating this phenomenon. One of its forms is slavery. Forced labor is prohibited by the Human Rights Convention, the Convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Slavery Convention, and in Russia by the Constitution and the Labor Code.

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What is forced labor

The ILO Convention of 1957 established that labor activity should not be used for political re-education, strengthening discipline, discrimination, as a punishment for participating in a strike, etc. Forced labor is primarily associated with slavery.

But we should not forget about the cruel exploitation of citizens in totalitarian states, especially in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. After the liberation of the European countries by the Soviet troops, all able-bodied Germans living on their territory were interned in the USSR for forced labor. They were able to return home only after 1957. In a later period in the USSR, such a type of voluntary-compulsory labor as autumn harvesting of crops or work on a fruit and vegetable base was widely used. Potatoes or beets were harvested in Russia, grapes in Transcaucasia, and cotton in Uzbekistan. Moreover, schoolchildren and students were often involved in such work.

Work that is performed is not forced labor:

• in conditions of martial law or state of emergency;
• by a court verdict as a criminal punishment;
• in the military or alternative civilian service;
• in the event of a natural disaster in order to prevent or eliminate its consequences.

The following forms of forced labor are currently encountered:

1. Kidnapping people to use them as slaves. Most often these are homeless, unemployed citizens;
2. The use of military personnel for activities not related to the service, for example, the involvement of soldiers in work for the personal interests of commanders;
3. Sexual slavery and forced prostitution, including of minors;
4. Engagement in work that is not part of the job responsibilities.

It should be noted that the punishment for forced labor can be not only physical impact in the form of violence or restriction of freedom.

These may be indirect means such as:

• money penalty;
• deprivation of privileges and rights;
• the threat of dismissal;
• transfer to work with worse conditions;
• non-payment of earnings;
• the threat of extradition to the police or the migration service;
• seizure of identity card.

Also, the boss may not sign the letter of resignation, forcing the employee to work under the threat of dismissal for absenteeism.

What threatens forced labor

Article 4 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation contains a direct ban on forced labor. There are various penalties for violating this rule.

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The Administrative Code considers this as a violation of labor legislation under Art. 5.27 and 5.27.1. The size

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Article 4. Prohibition of forced labor. Forced labor is prohibited.

Forced labor is the performance of work under the threat of any punishment (violent influence), including:
in order to maintain labor discipline;
as a measure of responsibility for participating in a strike;
as a means of mobilizing and using labor force for the needs of economic development;
as a punishment for having or expressing political views or ideological beliefs that are contrary to the established political, social or economic system;
as a measure of discrimination based on racial, social, national or religious affiliation.
Forced labor includes:
violation of the established deadlines for the payment of wages or payment of it not in full;
the requirement by the employer to fulfill labor duties from the employee if the employee is not provided with collective or individual protective equipment or the work threatens the life or health of the employee.
For the purposes of this Code, forced labor does not include:
work, the performance of which is conditioned by the legislation on military duty and military service or alternative civilian service replacing it;
work performed in emergency situations, that is, in cases of declaration of a state of emergency or martial law, disaster or threat of disaster (fires, floods, famine, earthquakes, severe epidemics or epizootics), as well as in other cases that endanger life or normal life conditions of the entire population or part of it;
work performed as a result of a court sentence that has entered into legal force under the supervision of state bodies responsible for compliance with the law in the execution of court sentences.
Commentary on Art. 4
1. The commented article fully takes into account the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 37), the ILO conventions "On forced or compulsory labor" of June 28, 1930 N 29 (entered into force on May 1, 1932) and "On the abolition of forced labor "of June 25, 1957 N 105 (entered into force on January 17, 1959), ratified respectively by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on June 4, 1956 and Federal Law of March 23, 1998 N 35-FZ, as well as the International Pact on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966 (ratified by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 18, 1973) on the prohibition of forced labor. The established prohibition follows from the freedom of labor of citizens.
2. In part 2 of the commented article, the general concept of forced labor is given, which is specified in the subsequent provisions of the article.
3. On the basis of part 3 of the commented article, unlawful actions or inaction of the employer (his representatives) should also be regarded as forced labor, excluding the possibility for employees to implement the state guarantees established for them in the field of labor. Moreover, these guarantees are associated with the most significant working conditions for them - the payment of remuneration for work and the provision of its protection.
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation lists two offenses related to forced labor, namely: delay in the payment of wages to an employee or its partial issuance (Article 136) and an unlawful requirement from an employee to perform labor duties in conditions when he is not provided with protective equipment or assigned work threatens his life or health (Articles 219 and 220). In both cases, the employee has the right to refuse to perform labor duties, which does not entail adverse consequences for him (Articles 142 and 220 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
4. In accordance with international law (see paragraph 1 of the commentary), any work or service that, by virtue of the laws on compulsory military service, is of a purely military nature, and is also part of the normal civic duties of citizens of a fully self-governing country, does not apply to forced labor. In this regard, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not include military service under a contract or conscription, carried out on the basis of the Federal Law "On military duty and military service" dated March 28, 1998 N 53-FZ, as well as replacing military service by conscription with alternative civilian service. The labor activity of citizens during the period of their passage of this service is regulated by the Federal Law "On Alternative Civil Service" dated July 25, 2002 N 113-FZ.
Compulsory work performed in emergency situations is also not considered forced labor. These works are permissible in cases that endanger the life or normal living conditions of the entire population or part of it, including when a state of emergency or martial law is declared. These provisions are temporarily introduced by the President of the Russian Federation throughout Russia or in its individual areas in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Federal constitutional laws "On the state of emergency" of May 30, 2001 N 3-FKZ and "On martial law" of January 30 2002 N 1-FKZ.
A state of emergency and martial law are temporary measures applied, respectively, solely to ensure the security of citizens and protect the constitutional order of Russia, or to create conditions for repelling or preventing aggression against the Russian Federation. When these provisions are announced, individual restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens, the rights of organizations and public associations, as well as the imposition of additional duties on them, are allowed. For example, the able-bodied population is mobilized to carry out emergency rescue work, work for defense needs, to eliminate the consequences of the use of weapons by the enemy, to restore damaged economic facilities, life support systems and military facilities, as well as to participate in the fight against fires, epidemics and epizootics.
During martial law, civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (other troops, military formations and bodies performing tasks in the field of defense) as part of military units are involved in repelling or preventing aggression against Russia in accordance with federal laws, as well as on the basis of generally recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation in this area.

FORCED LABOR FORCED LABOR - any work or service required under the threat of any punishment from a person who did not offer his services voluntarily (ILO Convention 29 "On Forced or Compulsory Labor", 1930). According to paragraph 3 of Art. 8 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, no one should be forced to P.T. (compulsory labor). At the same time, according to the said Convention to P.t. does not include: (a) Hard labor performed as a punishment by a court sentence, as well as any work or service that, as a rule, must be performed by a person who is in custody by a court sentence, or a person conditionally released from such conclusions; b) any service of a military nature, and in those countries where refusal of military service for political or religious-ethnic reasons is recognized, any service provided for by law for persons refusing military service for such reasons; c) any service obligatory in cases of emergency or disaster that threatens the life or well-being of citizens; d) any work or service that is included in ordinary civic duties. P.t. paragraph 2 of Art. 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Big legal dictionary. - M.: Infra-M. A. Ya. Sukharev, V. E. Krutskikh, A. Ya. Sukharev. 2003 .

See what "FORCED LABOR" is in other dictionaries:

Forced labor- performance of work under the threat of any punishment (violent influence), including: in order to maintain labor discipline; as a measure of responsibility for participating in a strike; as a means of mobilization and ... ... Official terminology

FORCED LABOR- performance of work under the threat of the use of any l. punishment (violent influence), including in order to maintain labor discipline and for the needs of economic development; as a measure of responsibility (punishment) for participating in a strike and ... ...

A social form of labor characteristic of antagonistic formations, in which the worker is forced to give his surplus labor to the ruling classes without an equivalent. P. t. arises at a certain stage in the development of productive ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

forced labor- any work or service required under the threat of any punishment from a person who did not offer his services voluntarily (ILO Convention ¦ 29 On Forced or Compulsory Labor, 1930). According to paragraph 3 of Art. 8 of the International Covenant on ... ... Big Law Dictionary

Forced labor- is defined by the norms of international labor law and the Labor Code of the Russian Federation as the performance of work under the threat of applying any punishment (violent influence). P.t. is prohibited, and the voluntary unemployment of citizens cannot serve as a basis for ... ... Big Law Dictionary

In the period after the end of the Second World War, it is known in Hungary under the name "little robot", Hung. Málenykij robot is a distorted Russian expression for “little work” (the Soviet military told the Hungarians that they were being taken away for a short time in order to ... ... Wikipedia

forced labor- see forced labor... Russian encyclopedia of labor protection

WORK- expedient human activity aimed at adapting the environment to meet their needs; on the transformation of material and intellectual resources into a product necessary for personal or public consumption, on ... ... Russian encyclopedia of labor protection

work- , a, m. Creative human activity. == Liberated (free) labor. ◘ All the counter-revolutionary rabble did not take into account one powerful factor in the power of liberated labor. Shkaratan, Vakser, 129. And when Vladimir Ilyich looked in ... Explanatory Dictionary of the Language of Soviet Deputies

work- high (Nadson); oppressive (Berg, Drozhzhin); bitter (Baltrushaitis); life-giving (I. Aksakov); peaceful (Bashkin); multi-care (Fedorov Davydov); tense (Serafimovich); unbearable (Nekrasov); vigilant (Surikov); “Pale comrade of the night” (Berg); ... ... Dictionary of epithets

Books

• Russian Labor, Oleg Platonov. "The history of the Soviet period has shown that the slave forced labor of Gulag prisoners cannot be compared not only with the exploitation of workers in a pre-revolutionary Russian factory, ...

Every citizen of the Russian Federation has the right to work, but is not obliged to work under pressure from the leadership. No one should fulfill labor obligations against their will. Russian legislation prohibits forced, compulsory labor and defends the working population of the country, subjected to forced labor by employers. But still, disputes arise, because situations that people sometimes encounter in production fall under the definition of forced labor activity. Consider what compulsory labor is and what threatens the employer for forcing his subordinates to do it.

Concept and characteristics

Work that a person performs under the threat of violence is called forced labor. In other words, this is a labor activity for which a citizen did not give consent of his own free will. And such tasks that are forced to be performed against the will of a person are prohibited by the Constitution and the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The legislator identifies 2 criteria for forced labor.

1. Lack of voluntary offer of services by the employee.
2. The presence of punishment: deprivation of rights and benefits, physical impact for refusing to complete the task.

An example of forced labor can be forced to work overtime. Often this process is accompanied by the seizure of identity papers from employees. In accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, there are certain types of compulsory labor, the list of which includes such work as:

• a measure of retaliation for participating in a strike;
• a means of involving and exploiting labor force for the purpose of economic development;
• a way to maintain labor discipline;
• a measure of national or racial restriction of human rights;
• retribution for worldview or political beliefs.

According to No. 90-FZ of June 30, 2006, specific categories with forms of forced labor are distinguished. This may be a delay in salary or part of it, forced performance of life-threatening work without observing safety regulations. But this is not the end of the list of illegal interaction between the parties, since each case of forced labor is individual. As an example, the conduct of work in violation of the terms of the contract and without a note on the activity in the work book of the employee.

Forcing military personnel to fulfill obligations outside the scope of military service; kidnapping for slave labor; sexual slavery; involvement of prisoners in labor, unusual activities in places of punishment; forced to work outside the scope of the job description under the threat of harm to health or life - all these are forms of compulsory labor. Example: a situation where a director does not sign an employee's resignation letter. So he forces a person to work under the threat of dismissal under the article. And thus the leader breaks the law.

It is possible to force forced labor not only through violence or restriction of freedom, but also through the use of indirect means. These include monetary fines, the threat of dismissal, the withdrawal of a passport, transfer to a job with worse conditions, etc.

Compulsory labor can be distinguished from voluntary work on such grounds as dependence on an employer, debt bondage, psychological or physical abuse, restriction of human freedom, lack of contract and social guarantees, forced labor, unlawful restrictions on pay. There are also cases when salaries are given not in cash, but in kind - for example, in products.

What jobs are not considered forced?

The prohibition of compulsory labor is regulated by art. 4 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and refers to constitutional provisions. This means that everyone has the right to choose their occupation and is not obliged to perform any work under the threat of punishment. An employee of any organization can quit of his own free will when he deems it necessary. At the same time, the head does not have the right to detain him for more than 14 calendar days.

Labor legislation also provides for such circumstances that restrict the rights of workers and at the same time are not regarded as a restriction. Such circumstances are allowed, as a rule, for the protection of citizens. It could be professional selection or medical examination.

According to Art. 87 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, forced labor is not considered work that is performed by order of the President under martial law. In this case, the involvement of the population in the work is necessary for the defense of the country, when the enemy shows aggression and threatens with hostile actions against Russia.

There are times when circumstances force employers to force subordinates to perform work that may be considered mandatory, but is not.

Forced labor does not include labor performed:

• during natural disasters, such as floods or other emergencies;
• in connection with military obligations and military service;
• by a court verdict as a punishment served under the supervision of state bodies.

Judicially approved tasks include correctional labor and the performance of compulsory labor functions by prisoners. The system of compulsory labor in places where criminals serve their sentences is absolutely legal and applies to all convicts - regardless of their state of health, age and other characteristics. The involvement of prisoners in the work is required for the improvement of the correctional facility, which is not equated with illegal activities. In fact, this is socially useful work, which has a positive effect on the correction of convicts.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation, which has the highest legal force, establishes the principles and main provisions of labor legislation. These include:

Freedom of choice of activity and sphere of employment,

The right to dispose of their abilities to work.

The principle of freedom of labor, proclaimed in Part 1 of Art. 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, fully complies with the provisions of Art. 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is reflected in the current federal, regional and local legislation. Labor freedom means that only the citizens themselves have the exclusive right to dispose of their abilities for productive and creative work.

An employee can exercise this right by concluding an employment contract, while he acquires the right to wages in accordance with its quantity and quality and not lower than the minimum amount established by federal law. All citizens of Russia have an equal right of access to any positions in state bodies in accordance with their profession and without any discrimination.

Implement the principle enshrined in Art. 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, an employee can, on the basis of an employment contract in safe conditions, while the obligation to ensure these conditions lies with the employer.

Constitutional norms relating to the implementation of the principle of freedom of labor on the basis of an employment contract are specified in legislative and other normative acts. Russian labor legislation consists of:

international legal acts ratified by the Russian Federation (Universal Declaration of Human Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Declaration of the International Labor Organization (ILO) 1998 "On Fundamental Principles and Rights in the Sphere of Work", etc.), Conventions ILO;

the current Labor Code of the Russian Federation (as amended on February 28, 2008);

other acts of the labor legislation of the Russian Federation and its subjects.

An employment contract is a common way to implement the principle of freedom of labor, when each citizen independently manages his ability to work, choosing to conduct entrepreneurial activities on his own or enter into contractual relations with business entities. At the same time, by concluding an employment contract, citizens implement not only their own principle of freedom of labor in accordance from Art. 37 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, but also the right to choose a specialty, profession, occupation, as well as a place of work.

Realizing the right to freedom of labor, the employee has the right to terminate the employment contract on his own initiative at any time by notifying the employer in writing two weeks in advance (Article 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The opportunity to work freely is guaranteed ban forcibly th t Ore. No one should be involved in forced labor (Article 8 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), which means

any work or service is required from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which that person has not offered his services voluntarily 21 .

The use of forced labor is prohibited by Article 4 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which refers to forced labor as work that an employee is forced to perform under the threat of any punishment (violent influence), while in accordance with the Labor Code or other federal laws, he has the right to refuse its implementation, including in connection with:

violation of the established deadlines for the payment of wages or payment of wages not in full;

the emergence of a direct threat to the life and health of an employee due to violation of labor protection requirements, in particular, failure to provide him with means of collective or individual protection in accordance with established standards.

This approach to the definition of the concept of forced labor was chosen to strengthen the guarantees of observance of the labor rights of workers, to ensure the exercise of the right to self-defense (Articles 142,219, 220, 379, 380 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The employer is not entitled to choose a sanction that is not provided for by law as a disciplinary sanction (Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), which excludes the use of forced labor in order to maintain labor discipline and as a measure of responsibility for participating in a strike.

Forced labor does not include:

work, the performance of which is conditioned by the legislation on military duty and military service or alternative civilian service replacing it;

work, the performance of which is conditioned by the introduction of a state of emergency or martial law in the manner prescribed by federal constitutional laws;

work performed under emergency conditions, i.e. in case of disaster or threat of disaster (fires, floods, famine, earthquakes, epidemics or epizootics), and in other cases that endanger the life or normal living conditions of the entire population or part of it;

work performed as a result of a court sentence that has entered into legal force under the supervision of state bodies responsible for compliance with the law in the execution of court sentences.

Freedom of labor is ensured not only by the prohibition of forced labor, but also by the observance of the constitutional principle of equality (parts 1 and 2 of article 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). The Constitutional Court emphasized that "... freedom of labor implies providing everyone with the opportunity on an equal footing with other citizens

21 Art. 2 of the ILO Convention No. 29 of 1930 "On Forced or Compulsory Labor".

under our conditions and without any discrimination to enter into labor relations, realizing their ability to work. "The application of the principle of equality excludes the possibility of presenting different requirements to persons performing identical labor duties 22 .