Work in prison: Reintegration or exclusion and exploitation?

Abstract

Work opportunities in prison can be valuable for the incarcerated. However, prison labour presents significant challenges because of its location behind prison walls away from the public eye, where prison authorities exercise unprecedented power over individuals. Even though work is not part of prisoners’ punishment in Europe, it is often compulsory. What is also striking is that in many legal orders prisoners are excluded from labour rights that other workers have. Unlike work outside prison, the legal regulation of prison work constitutes it as an instrument of exclusion from life outside prison rather than a path towards reintegration in society, and creates structures of exploitation. In this article I examine the value of work in prison and consider the exclusion of working prisoners from labour rights that other workers have. I also scrutinise some typical justifications of these exclusions of working prisoners. I propose that work in prison should be regulated in line with the purpose of reintegration in society and according to European and international human rights standards on prisons.