One of the positive developments of 2015, is the proposed amendment to the Imprisonment Code, according to which the convict, who is engaged in the individual working
activities, is entitled, under the consent and control of the prison director and with the
support of the establishment, to sell his/her products.
A number of inmates are engaged in individual activities in prisons, in particular preparation of different types of articles (crosses, enameling, woolen fabrics, and more.). The
existing legislative record does not allow the accused / convicted to sell these works. By
virtue of the proposed amendments, the accused / convict will be able to manufacture
a variety of products and realize them under the control from the institution. The realisation will be held in accordance with the order of the Minister, likely through the online
store and the money will be transferred directly to the accused / convict’s personal
bank account. The list of the allowable activities, the rules applicable to them and rules
of realisation of individual manufactured item (product), will be set by the Minister of
Corrections.
The bill specifies the general labor issues of the accused / convicted, in particular, if
the penitentiary institution has employment opportunities, it can employ the accused /
convict for small repair works. In this case, the Ministry plans setting up a small working
group, which will train the prisoners in the relevant profession and provide the fulfilment
of those small repair works, which will be held in the particular case of the penitentiary
system. In this way the inmates will develop job skills, and will receive the corresponding
amount of compensation for the work performed. This type of work will contribute to
their re-socialization and rehabilitation.
Accused / convict employment-related issues and the procedure for remuneration, as
well as the full list (including small repair works, and their delivery and acceptance procedure) of jobs which can be fulfilled by the accused/convict, shall be determined by
order of the Minister.
On 16 July 2015 a new low-risk prison N17 was opened. According to the Order #71
of the Minister of Corrections122 one of the functions of the institution is organising
employment of prisoners. Manufacturing sector was established in the establishment
in order to deal with the maintenance works. On 27 November 2015 our visit to the
establishment revealed that none of the prisoners had been employed since the start of
operation of the institution, when the main purpose of their transfer to this institution
was to get them employed. As the visit revealed, certain prisoners took turns cleaning
up their living cells and other areas, but none of the work was performed for the appropriate remuneration.
122 the Order #71 of the Minister of Corrections On regulations of the establishment N 16, Article
3.2.d
78
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM (NPM), 2015
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