Page 40 - NAPFL FINAL

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3.2 International Work or service
Legal Framework “All work or service” refers to all types
of work, service and employment,
occurring in any activity, industry or
The legal framework in sector, including in the informal
economy. Forced labour can occur in
Malaysia is based on a both the public and private sectors.
number of international and
regional Conventions that
Malaysia has ratified. Any person
The definition applies to all workers.
This refers to adults as well as
These include (but are not limited to) ILO children, regardless of their
Convention 29 on Forced Labour which nationality and legal status.
Malaysia ratified in 1957, the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons, Especially Women and Menace of any penalty
Children (Palermo Protocol) and the The “menace of any penalty” refers to
ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in a wide range of penalties used to
Persons Especially Women and Children compel someone to perform work or
(ACTIP). service, including penal sanctions
and various forms of direct or indirect
coercion, such as physical violence,
psychological threats or the non-
ILO C29 defines “forced or payment of wages. The “penalty” may
compulsory labour” as “all work or
service which is exacted from any also consist of a loss of rights or
person under the menace of any privileges (such as a promotion,
penalty and for which the said transfer, or access to new
person has not offered himself employment).
voluntarily”. Involuntariness
National Action Plan on Forced Labour (2021-2025) This definition consists of the following to the free and informed consent of a

The terms “offered voluntarily” refer

elements:
worker to enter into an employment
relationship and his or her freedom
to leave the employment at any time.
For example, an employer or recruiter
could interfere with this freedom by
9 This explanation of the definition is taken from “The new
making false promises to induce a
Protocol and Recommendation at a glance” http://www.ilo.org/
worker to take a job that he or she
wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/
would not otherwise have accepted.
9