Regulations on Convict Labor
Category: Regulation | Area of Effect: Labor Rights | Proposed by: Barfleur
The World Assembly,
Applauding prior legislation, at the national and international level, to abolish slavery and protect the rights of workers;
Understanding that there are crimes for which a sentence of incarceration is appropriate;
Aware of nations which permit prisoners to work during the period of their incarceration;
Recognizing the value that prison labor brings to society, as well as to an incarcerated person, including, but not limited to, gaining work experience and receiving pay;
Dismayed by reports of abuse in the prison labor systems of many nations, including requiring prisoners to work for little or no pay;
Committed to guaranteeing basic rights for all sapient beings, including those serving a prison sentence;
Hereby:
1. Defines, for the purpose of this resolution, a "prisoner" as a sapient being confined to a certain location as punishment for a crime, excluding persons confined to their own home or that of a legal guardian;
2. Empowers member nations to decide for themselves, through their normal legislative process, whether to permit prisoners therein to work during the period of their incarceration;
3. Prohibits the sale or leasing of any prisoner by the government or any private prison to any private corporation or institution;
4. Extends all workplace health and safety regulations, past and future, on the national and international level, to cover prisoners working during the period of their incarceration;
5. Requires prisoners working during the period of their incarceration receive a wage commensurate to the extent of their work, which shall be equivalent to the wage a free worker employed in the same trade would receive for doing the same quantity and quality of work;
6. Authorizes the nations that permit prison labor to deduct from a prison laborer's wages enough money to cover security, accommodation, food, and all other amenities afforded to prisoners, provided that the amount deducted shall not be greater than the amount earned, and that a prisoner who is not working shall not be charged any money;
7. Clarifies that nothing in this resolution shall be construed to abolish or hinder the existence of private prisons, or disparage them in favor of government-owned prisons; and
8. Affirms its commitment to the rehabilitation of criminal offenders, and recognizes fair and gainful prison labor as a step in that direction.
This is quite a rough draft, and I have no idea when I plan on submitting it (ideally before September though). If there is any advice or feedback, I would be happy to hear it.
Edit Log
7/6/20: Added a clause clarifying that this resolution does not prohibit private prisons
7/7/20: Added a clause enabling nations to deduct prisoners' pay to cover the costs of keeping them imprisoned
7/9/20: Added a preambulatory clause
7/10/20: Changed title from "Regulations on Prison Labor" to "Regulations on Convict Labor" and added a phrase in the first clause acknowledging legislation by the WA and by individual nations
7/13/20: Removed “human or other” from Clause 1 and removed “or not” from Clause 2
7/14/20: Clarified that workplace health and safety regulation, past and future, apply to prison laborers
7/19/20: Edited the second clause to permit member nations to include prison labor as a sentence for a crime so as not to contradict GA#23
7/21/20: Removed the parts allowing nations to require prison labor so as not to contradict "International Criminal Protocol"
7/27/20: Submitted!
7/30/20: Failed to make queue, returned to drawing board
8/14/20: Changed "incarcerated being" to "incarcerated person" and modified the line relating to house arrest
8/16/20: Reworked the line relating to house arrest