CHAPTER 3: ARTICLE 6

SEMESTER II 2013/2014 LLB

A. Article 6 (1)

No person shall be held in slavery

Definition
Oxford Dictionary A slave is a person who is the legal property of another or others and is bound to absolute obedience, a human chattel A slave is not paid for services rendered and may be sold A person engaged in forced labor is paid but may not be sold

A free man

Have the liberty Complete in relation to liberty employment Have no or Liberty is limited limited liberty in relation to employment Have no or No liberty limited liberty in relation to employment

Forced labor

A slave

Prohibition against slavery

Slavery is not merely the keeping of people for their services in total submission to their masters. It also encompasses the exploitation and degradation of people in various circumstances for the purpose of using their services. Article 6 (1)- absolute prohibition against slavery No exception

Common forms of slavery in modern times~

The exploitation of children, particularly in dangerous occupations Forced prostitution Forced marriage The exploitation of prisoners of the state and prisoners of war for commercial purposes The exploitation of immigrants, especially illegal immigrants having little education and knowledge of their legal rights The exploitation of indigenous people living on their traditional lands by the state, new settlers and commercial interests Bonded labor.

Case: WONG LAI FATT V PP [1973] 2 MLJ 31

Facts: A young couple were in debt. Their creditor forced the woman into prostitution so that she could pay off the debt. When the debt had been repaid, the creditor however suggested that she continue to be a prostitute. The couple refused. The creditor then tried to rape the woman whereupon her husband stabbed the creditor to death. The husband pleaded guilty and was convicted for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The Federal Court quashed the conviction, roundly criticizing various persons for the grave injustice caused, when the right of private defence stood out plain as a pikestaff.

B. Article 6 (2)
Article 6 (2) all forms of forced labor are prohibited Exceptions: Article 6 (2) Article 6 (3) Article 6 (4)

(i) Exception 1- article 6 (2)

Compulsory service for national purposes E.g: Akta Latihan Khidmat Negara 2003
Compulsory service for 3 months Substitute the word of forced labour to national service. Failure to serve?

E.g: Enlistment Act 1970 - Singapore

Compulsory service not exceeding 2 years

Case: CHEONG SEOK LENG v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR [1988] 2 MLJ 481

Facts: A was served with an enlistment notice with accompanying instructions pursuant to section 10 of the Enlistment Act and was enlisted for full-time national service in the Vigilante Corps. For his national service, he was posted to the Construction Brigade and was required to undergo a threemonth residential training at the Civil Defence School II for the acquisition of skills in construction work. He left the school one Saturday but failed to return to school.

He was arrested by CNB officers and admitted to Selarang Park Drug Rehabilitation Centre for treatment for drug addiction. He was then arrested upon his discharge and subsequently convicted on a charge under section 15 (1) of the Vigilante Corps Act for his unlawful absence from duty at Civil Defence School II with the intention of not returning to duty.

Issue & Judgment (Singapore)

Issue: That the imposition of construction work on the appellant was unconstitutional as a form of forced labor prohibited by article 10(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore Held: National service per se is a form of forced labour. However, the service in the Vigilante Corps as a form of national service was within the terms of a law passed by Parliament for national purposes, i.e. the Enlistment Act

(ii) Exception 2- article 6 (3)

Work undertaken by a prisoner which is incidental to a sentence of imprisonment E.g: Social services, Indian prisoners working at the mines Malaysian prisoners- handicraft

(iii) Exception 3- article 6 (4)

Transfer of employment from one public authority to another public authority Provided for in written law E.g: Government officers

Case: BARAT ESTATES SDN BHD & ANOR V PARAWAKAN A/L SUBRAMANIAM & ORS [2000] 4 MLJ
Facts: R were employed by As on two estates. The owner of the estate sold both estates to Prospell Enterprise Sdn Bhd. The owner wrote a letter R informing them of the sale of the estates to Prospell and said that the change of ownership would not affect the terms and conditions of the respondents' service. The letter went on to say that Rs employment would continue as if there had been no change in the employer. Prospell also wrote to R offering them to continue their employment. All R accepted Prospell's offer.
.

Later, they commenced an action against the owner. They claimed an indemnity under s 13(1) of the Employment Act 1955 on the ground that the owner had failed to give them notices of termination of their contracts in accordance with s 12 of the Act. The owner resisted the claim principally on the ground that there had been no break in the continuity of their contracts of service and R had therefore suffered no actual loss of employment. Since there was no loss, no question of indemnity arose.

Issue
The issue before the High Court was whether the appellants were obliged to indemnify the respondents under s 13(1) of the Act.

Court of Appeal
Every employee has a right to choose his employer No person may dictate to another that he shall be the employee of anyone When an employer sells off his business to another, he must give his employees the right to make a choice as to the course he or she wishes to adopt The giving of notice by the former employer upon the sale of a business enables the employee to exercise his right to the choice that he is entitled to make. A failure to give notice deprives the employee of his right to make a choice