A group of prison inmates is in court fighting to have their salaries doubled for the work they do behind bars.
Lawyers for the inmates argue salaries haven't gone up since 1981, ranging from $5.25 an hour to about $7 an hour, amounting to forced labour. Costs of 30% are deducted from the salaries to help pay for lodging and the telephone system. A corrrectional services investigator even recommended in 2005 that the salaries increase but nothing was done.
Lawyers argue that the system was supposed to make inmates responsible and empower them. But Federal Court Judge Yvan Roy asked how increasing the salaries would do that.
Lawyer Rita Magloé Francis said it's commendable that inmates work not only to help contribute to the costs of housing them but also to help them adapt to reality when they're released from prison. She also argued the salaries don't take into account rising inflation and the inmates' financial obligations: long distance phone calls to family; personal purchases such as clothing; or goods and non-essential medication or healthcare items at the prison canteen (such as shampoo, cough syrup, rice, juice, meat). Their brief to federal court says that what they were able to buy at the canteen for $8.50 in 1981 now costs around $62.
The federal government is arguing that the system is fair and conforms to the norms, adding that the basics such as lodging, medical care, and meals are provided free of charge by the state and that inmates have access to reinsertion programs related to education and social programs.
The hearing is scheduled for three days.