Paid prison labour
[1] The most common work assignments contribute to facility support, such as food service, groundwork, building maintenance and office administration.
However, exceptions include inmates who are medically unable to work, involved in full-time Educational or vocational training programs, or deemed a security risk.
[3] The benefits of paid labour for inmates may include heightened incentives for good behaviour, productivity and post-release skill development, in addition to improved emotional wellbeing.
These tasks include cooking meals, maintaining the prison grounds, laundering inmate clothing, repairing boilers and conducting clerical work.
[8] On occasion, inmates are involved in labouring for public projects – for instance, assisting local communities to repair roads, clearing land and planting trees.
[12] In Australia, a prisoner's refusal to work negatively impacts their ‘Earned Incentive Plan’ level – this affects the provision of their inmate privileges, such as television, yard-time and family visits.
A US nationwide 1991 American Correctional Association survey reported that only 8% of federal and state prisoners had research and industry type jobs.
Prisons generally incorporate a no-cash system, meaning any amount of money an inmate possesses or earns is stored in a bank account managed by the correctional facility.
[5] Predominantly in private prisons, automated kiosks allow inmates to check their account balance and place their canteen orders.
[10] With a few exceptions, regular prison jobs (cleaning, groundskeeping, kitchen and clerical work) remain unpaid in the U.S. states of Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Arkansas.
In public prisons, canteens provide products such as tobacco, hobby materials, stationery, non-prescribed medication, additional food and toiletries.
[5] In the UK, public sector prisons base their inventory on a national product list (NPL) of approved items.
[17] According to their custody level and individual spending limit, inmates may purchase hygiene products, candy, vitamins and supplements, clothing and desk lamps.
[13] Prisoners can purchase clothes and other items not included on the canteen sheet – for instance, DVDs and CDs from catalogues such as Amazon.
[19] A smaller 4% of the U.S. prison population work in ‘correctional industries’, producing goods and services which are then sold externally to government agencies, Schools and non-profit organisations.
[20] However, private use is permissible in the U.S. through federal and state laws, which are grounded in the 13th Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery except as a punishment for a crime.
[5] Not necessarily paid labour, this activity consists of education and training, commercial Workshops and service tasks such as cleaning or mentoring.
[5] The 1964 Prison Service Guidelines declare that individuals may receive financial compensation for the purposeful activity they perform while incarcerated.
[5] Purchased in bulk by DHL, public prisons select and order 375 items from the NPL to form a Local Product List (LPL).
[5] Within the Australian penal system, all convicted individuals are required to participate in paid labour as a necessary procedure for inmate development and effective correctional management.
[16] Prisoners who work extended hours due to deadlines or involvement in seven-day, 42-hour per week positions, may accrue earnings beyond AU$70.2.
For instance, as indigenous representatives, library clerks and tutors, as well as clerical support for industry managers and educational program coordinators.
Generally, European penal systems serve the goal of providing work as a positive and productive aspect of incarceration rather than punishment.
For instance, approximately only 5,300 labour roles are offered to 12,500 prisoners in Greece, while in Italy there is only one inmate out of five who is entitled to paid work.
[22] Prisoners in Japan are also able to undertake factory work (i.e. assembling machinery, fabricating parts) for external manufacturers through contracted arrangements.
[24] Regulations in private prisons are minimal, limiting inmate access to sick leave and holidays, while also potentially endangering workers due to the lack of federal oversight in the area of workplace safety.
[24] U.S. inmates incarcerated in private facilities are given the opportunity for paid work in association with companies such as Revlon, Target and Microsoft.
[24] American Corporations who employ prison labourers may benefit by using the tag ‘made in the USA’ and reduced transportation fees accumulated through shipping externally manufactured products back to the US to package and sell.
[25] In most countries, minimum-security facilities incorporate dormitory-style living quarters and fewer guards than higher security prisons.
Maximum-security prisons are surrounded by high walls, barbed tape and armed guards posted in Observation towers.
