Promoting Prisoner Work and Skills
~*~*~*~ Advancement of Industry ~*~*~*~ Labor Deregulation ~*~*~*~
The World Assembly:
Recognizing that many Member Nations use incarceration as a tool for both criminal punishment and reform, and
Wanting to promote employment and the acquisition of labor skills by imprisoned individuals, and
Hoping that more incarcerated individuals will acquire valuable experience that will aid them once their debt to society is paid,
Therefore, the General Assembly resolves as follows:
Article I: Definitions
- A prisoner is a person who is serving a sentence of incarceration following a criminal conviction.
- Work means performing physical or mental labor in exchange for pay.
- Working full-time means working at least the same number of hours per week as the average laborer within that national jurisdiction, or two thirds of waking hours, whichever is greater.
- An approved training program is any training program that teaches a work-related skill, technique, or ability.
- Leisure activities means non-work rest, relaxation, or entertainment for prisoners provided, permitted, or facilitated by a Member Nation's prison system.
Article II: Central Mandate
Every prisoner in every member nation must be permitted to work full-time throughout their incarceration, except as provided in the Exceptions below.
Article III: Exceptions
A prisoner may be exempted from the Central Mandate as follows:
- At the discretion of prison security officers, if there is clear and convincing evidence that the prisoner would pose a substantial flight or safety risk if permitted to work.
- To allow for basic prison administrative tasks, including but not limited to time spent admitting a person into prison, processing legally required paperwork, security measures, health evaluations, preparing the person for discharge, etc.
- If there is substantial evidence that the prisoner suffers from a mental or physical disability or injury which medically precludes performing any work.
- As a punishment for bad behavior in the institution.
- If the prisoner is an imprisoned youth, as defined by international or local national law, if the youth is expected to attend school full-time or otherwise not expected to work at that age.
Article IV: Obligations and Rights of Member Nations
For individuals subject to the Central Mandate and not exempted under an Exception, the following provisions apply:
- Member nations shall ensure that every prisoner has access to either approved training programs or full-time work, or both, throughout their incarceration.
- A member nation may permit a prisoner to perform work for the state, so long as the member nation is satisfied that doing so will not endanger the state or public.
- A member nation must permit, ensure, and allow that a prisoner works or trains full-time for any businesses willing to employ them, so long as security and public safety measures are in place.
- Member nations must allow prisoners to be paid a fair wage for their work, in light of their abilities, work quality, and financial needs.
- Member nations may require prisoners to contribute a portion of their wages to the administrative costs of their incarceration, the costs of any prison work and training programs, and to any restitution owed to their victims.
- Time spent participating in an approved training program counts as time spent working, except that prisoners are not entitled to pay while being trained.
- To incentivize able prisoners to improve their skills and repay their social debts, member nations are encouraged to make a prisoner's participation in leisure activities contingent on their willingness to accept full-time work.