>Hard labour: private jails breach UN laws
&
>Churches to stay out of (private) jails
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Hard labour: private jails breach UN laws
By Mark Davis
Australian Financial Review 20 March 1999
Privatised prisons in Australia are breaching an international legal
convention against the use of forced labour, according to a United
Nations agency.
Privatised prisons in Australia are breaching an international legal
convention against the use of forced labour, according to a United
Nations agency.
The International Labour Organisation has upheld a complaint by the
ACTU arguing that privately operated prisons in Victoria were forcing
prisoners to work, in breach of international law.
In a finding with significant implications for Australia's human
rights reputation, an ILO committee said the use of prisoner labour
by privatised prisons put Australia in breach of the forced labour
convention.
The ILO convention, which Australia ratified in 1932, requires
signatory nations to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour.
While the ILO convention provides an exemption for work extracted
from people as a result of a conviction, it rules out prison labour
being "hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals,
companies or associations".
The ACTU complained that the Victorian prisons were forcing prisoners
to work on a range of manufacturing operations at pay rates of $6.50
to $7.50 a day, undercutting companies using mainstream labour.
The Federal Government argued that work by prisoners was covered by
the exemption under the convention regardless of whether it was
performed in State-managed or privately operated prisons.
But in its ruling the committee said the legal prohibition on the use
of forced prison labour for the benefit of private firms was absolute
and applied to all work organised by privately run prisons.
An ACTU assistant secretary, Mr Tim Pallas, said the peak union
council had taken the issue to the Geneva-based ILO after receiving
complaints from Victorian manufacturing companies that their products
were being undercut by those produced with prison labour.
"Our principal concern has always been the potential for work
performed inside prisons under coercion at sub-standard rates of pay
to displace labour out in the broader community," Mr Pallas said. "We
also have great concerns that the civil rights of the prisoners be
respected and it is their right not to be forced to work and not to
be remunerated at rates of pay which are so disproportionate."
Mr Pallas said prisoners were effectively coerced to work inside
Victorian privatised prisons as those who refused were subject to
penalties such as loss of privileges, being moved to less desirable
quarters and having their refusal to work taken into account in
parole applications.
He said the ILO finding should be regarded seriously by the Federal
and State governments as the convention against forced labour was one
of the most basic international human rights instruments.
"This is a United Nations agency saying Australia has breached a
forced labour convention," he said. "That is the sort of behaviour
you expect from places like Burma or Nigeria."
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is prohibited.
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Churches to stay out of jails
By TIM PEGLER
20mar99, The Australian
STATE Government moves to consider approval of a privately run
custody centre for 17 to 20-year-old youths have hit a major hurdle,
with Victorian churches uniting to oppose the proposal.
Government sources yesterday confirmed heads of churches had written
to Youth and Community Services Minister Denis Napthine not just to
detail their concerns, but to warn they would not assist in the
management of a private juvenile facility.
The refusal to participate is seen as a slap in the face to the
Government, which is believed to favour a detention centre run by a
private consortium comprising correctional, education and welfare
experts.
With signatures on the heads of churches letter including Roman
Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Baptist, Orthodox and Salvation
Army leaders, a solid stand would effectively rule out most
mainstream youth welfare agencies.
Welfare sources had previously suggested the Salvation Army and a
major Anglican agency were contenders to join consortiums bidding for
the contracts to run the facility.
Salvation Army spokesman John Dalziel confirmed the army was
"definitely not interested" in running a youth custody centre.
The Government maintains no decision has been made to back a
privately run facility, but sources concede the money needed to
address a shortage of juvenile custody beds would be hard to come by.
A government expert panel formed to investigate whether to endorse a
private centre is yet to report back to Dr Napthine.
Dr Napthine said he was happy to meet with heads of churches and
welcomed the chance to "discuss the matter in a full and frank way".
He did not consider the churches refusal to co-manage a new centre as
a setback. "I don't want to be the one to tell them, but a number of
their agencies have already talked to us about possible
participation," he said.
The Uniting Church Victorian moderator, Pam Kerr, said the churches
were strongly opposed to being involved in the management of a new
centre because "we do not want to be seen as jailers".
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