Submission Link : Link to ASA Submission
Submission Summary :
UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (the Special Rapporteur) undertook an inquiry on current and formerly incarcerated people and contemporary forms of slavery.
Anti-Slavery Australia’s submission highlights that despite robust legal framework to combat modern slavery, each Australian jurisdiction has provisions legalising compulsory work for people in prison along with sanctions in place for incarcerated individuals who fail or refuse to work. The submission further points out that the prison labour programmes are commercially oriented to provide boost the profit of corporations while grossly exploiting the incarcerated. The submission also finds that these prison labour practices disproportionately affect First Nations peoples and people living with disabilities.
The submission believes that Australia’s prison labour programmes have potentially breached domestic and international law. The submission finds that certain practices in Australia’s prison labour system violates article 2(c) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 29 on Forced Labour as the practices appear to serve as a form of ‘double punishment’ – where incarcerated individuals are also further punished by being compelled to work in exploitative conditions.
This submission recommends that the Australian Government:
- Extend the classification of incarcerated individuals as “workers”.
- Repeal all Australian legislation provisions which force people in prison to work.
- Renumerate work in prisons at Award rates.
- Provide employer references for people in prison following the end of their employment.
- Provide fair work conditions, including adequate breaks, training and compensation for injuries
- Provide people in prison the right to form or join unions
- Provide every person in prison the opportunity to work and receive education and/or training.