Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Sudan (Ratification: 1970)

Article 1(d) of the Convention. Punishment for having participated in strikes. The Committee previously noted that, according to section 124 of the 1997 Labour Code, workers or officials should be forbidden from partially or totally stopping work. It also noted that sections 112, 119 and 120 of the Labour Code provide that labour disputes which could not be settled amicably within three weeks would be automatically referred to an arbitration body, whose decision would be final and without appeal. In this regard, section 126(2) of the Labour Code provides for a penalty of imprisonment, which may involve an obligation to work, of up to six months in cases of violation or refusal to apply the provisions of the Labour Code. The Committee noted in this regard that the Labour Code was being reviewed.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Labour Code is still being amended due to the different circumstances experienced by the country, which have prevented progress from being made on the desired amendments to the Labour Code.

The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures, in the context of the final revision of Labour Code, to ensure that legislation no longer provides for the possibility of imposing penalties involving compulsory prison labour for peaceful participation in strikes, as currently provided for in sections 124 and 126(2) of the Labour Code. It requests the Government to provide information in this regard and a copy of the new Labour Code, once adopted.