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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIn Germany, Using Prison Labor To Undercut Cheap Chinese Manpower
Only in America?
http://www.worldcrunch.com/business-finance/in-germany-using-prison-labor-to-undercut-cheap-chinese-manpower/c2s9496
RAVENSBURG - Otto Oberländer calls out a friendly "Hello!" as he enters the production hall where a dozen men work at a long table putting garden sprinklers together. The men, who all wear blue boiler suits, give a friendly acknowledgement of the bosss greeting and then get back to work. The fact that the door to the hall is locked doesnt strike, one way or the other. Its only when Oberländer refers to his rogues instead of workers that we remember this isnt any old medium-sized enterprise: its the JVA Ravensburg prison just outside the city of Ravensburg in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
Inmates dont just build sprinklers: among other things, they make furniture, switching circuits - we make everything except lukewarm ice cubes, says Oberländer, and that includes a recent a shipment of dildos fabricated out of high-grade steel.
Ninety-five percent of the 415 prisoners in the Ravensburg facility leave their cells for 7.4 hours a day to work. The remaining 5 percent are either not fit to work or off sick. While some of the inmates work for the prison itself, in the kitchen or cleaning, 45 percent of them work for the lucrative business of producing goods ordered by clients. This prison manufacture is considered a model of its kind in Germany.
~ snip ~
But one thing he doesnt worry about is losing business if there is another economic crisis. On the contrary: demographic developments, and the tendency of judges to incarcerate fewer offenders and have them wear ankle monitors instead, has him worrying that the numbers of prisoners will shrink
to the point that we wont be able to keep up with orders.
SamKnause
(13,114 posts)or did the U.S. copy this practice from Germany ???
It appears all countries love slave labor.
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)A quick Google glance seems to indicate that yes, it is widespread.
On the one hand, it is good that prisoners can leave their cell and gain useful skills. On the other, they are being paid slave wages, and sometimes, even that is taken away from them to help pay for their incarceration.
SamKnause
(13,114 posts)and keeps wages low.
RedstDem
(1,239 posts)where the inmates aren't put in danger of losing life, limb, or threatening to their health.
it's probably is a good thing.
on the positive side it will help to rehabilitate, by way of learning marketable skills.
should not be allowed in a privately owned prison, too much incentive for abuse, actually, there should be no such thing as a privately owned prison..
and damn!, steel dildos?, seems they would be cold, well whatever, happy valentines day!
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)...they are used to working accurately. Not kidding. I once saw a documentary about the jail "Santa Fu" in Hamburg and the prison-director said that.
Btw, at least int the case of Santa Fu, the proceeds are donated.