Prison works

[Gob]

Signs of sanity in the UK?

Prisoners 'should work 40 hours' a week says Ken Clarke

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11470289

Ken Clarke wants prisoners to prepare for life outside of jail by establishing a work habit

Prisoners in England and Wales should work a 40-hour week, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke is expected to say.

Mr Clarke is set to make the announcement to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Tuesday.

He will say the government will begin a major expansion of prison industries to get more inmates working.

Mr Clarke will say jail is a place of "sluggishness and boredom" for many prisoners, where getting up in the morning is "optional".
Minimum wage

He wants offenders to prepare for life on the outside by establishing the habit of "routine hard work".

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw says it is understood discussions have already begun with a large number of private companies about increasing the number of job opportunities in prisons.

Ministers are also considering building a large-scale "working prison" on the site of a factory, possibly a recycling plant.

Mr Clarke's aim is for inmates in publicly-run prisons to work a 40-hour week, for which they would be paid the minimum wage, with part of their earnings going to victims.

But officials are aware that any move to provide prisoners with work must not be at the expense of local jobs and businesses, our correspondent added.

[Crackpot]

A recycling plant might make sense as those are businesses as it is currently often cost prohibitive to do so. Other businesses tend to take advantage of cheap labor at the expense of unincarcerated workers.