Sasha Borissenko: A look at prisoners’ rights – and earnings

OPINION:

When I was a baby reporter, or as they are commonly called, one of my first chief reporters told me not to focus on stories about the three “ps” – “the poor, the prisoners or retirees”.
The reason for this was that depressing stories usually “disappoint people” and other populations didn’t care. An existential crisis soon followed.

I suspect the situation has changed significantly as traditional New Zealanders increasingly experience poverty due to the rising cost of living, inflation and Covid-19. Then there is the population of baby boomers approaching retirement.

Prisoners also made headlines, with Green MP Golriz Ghahraman’s pledge to give prisoners full voting rights under her withdrawn Strengthening Electoral Democracy Amendment Bill. poll in May.

The former human rights and criminal law lawyer has always been interested in advocating for prisoner voting because it is fundamental to the functioning of a democracy, she says.

“Issues of democracy affect all policy areas we engage in, if democracy is broken or if it is unfair or unequal for certain groups, it means we do not have adequate representation to respond to those interests in that what we do in government.

“We know that Maori and the poor are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system and these are the people who need rights and representation the most. Decisions tend to be stronger when more people are involved. to the process.”

For context, the government passed part of the bill during its last term in government, which extended voting rights to prisoners if they were sentenced to three years or less. Ghahraman saw no sense in the arbitrary three-year bar.

So have the Human Rights Commission, the Waitangi Tribunal and the Supreme Court, following the legendary case involving former long-term prisoner Arthur Taylor, which concluded that the current legislative framework was incompatible with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

Jobs that pay 20c an hour

At the same time, steps have also been taken to increase the minimum wage for inmates working at Rimutaka prison, which currently stands at between 20 and 60 cents per hour. Livingston & Livingston founder Digby Livingston led the charge through his work as a Borrin Foundation Community Law Fellow.

The usual arrangement is that if inmates meet the good behavior requirements, they may be eligible to grease the wheels of the prison machine, so to speak. The most in-demand positions, he says, include cleaning, cooking, gardening and maintaining the prison facility. Pay tends to vary between 20 and 60 cents an hour.

Currently, the rate is determined by whether inmates are considered volunteers under the Labor Relations Act.

Why do inmates want to do the work? “Jail would be so boring if you didn’t, otherwise it’s good for your record, and a little reserve money lets you buy noodles from the shop or a phone card to call your kids,” he said.

Suppose prisoners don’t want to buy noodles or phone cards, the money – which for a 35-hour week might be as little as $7 at 20 cents an hour – goes into a trust account from jail. Interestingly, the Correctional Operations Manual places a cap of $200 that can be in one trust account at a time.

“The system is polarizing. Some say prisoners shouldn’t be paid at all if they go to jail, but why should we exploit a group of people who are arguably disadvantaged in life to begin with?

“What if the 10,000 or so prisoners who worked decided to drop their tools and unionize? I think it’s one of those weird things where it seems normal but when you look at it, it seems deeply unfair.”

Where to go from here? Livingston plans to conduct six months of research to see the difference in rates, the situation overseas and whether prisoners should be considered employees under the Employee Relations Act. He doesn’t know what will happen to the research, but it would be fantastic to then present it to corrections or even the government for review, he says.

Restorative justice is also increasingly in vogue, where if we really want to provide comprehensive services so that prisoners can reintegrate into the community, it’s time to start thinking about granting them rights that allow them to thrive on draconian punitive practices, he says. .