Complaint On Prison Labour Competition

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30259, 11 October 1963, Page 17

Complaint On Prison Labour Competition

The Minister of Justice (Mr Hanan) bad forgotten that prisoners making fumiture were competing against the workshops of the Disabled Servicemen's Re-estab-Ushment League, said the secretary of the Canterbury Furniture Trades Union, Mr S. Harris, yesterday. He is also a member of the.league's Christchurch training subcommittee. Mr Harris said the work done by inmates of Paparua Prison did affect men employed at the disabled servicemen’s training centre, Rsccarton. ‘There is virtually no work at Riccarton at all,” he said. He was commenting on a statement by Mr Hanan that it was the policy of prisons to make furniture for Govemsnent departments and for agencies financed by the Government. Mr Harris said that the Justice Department was putting in tenders “on no costs at all. otter than the cost of materials.” Disabled servicemen had to cost on the ruling labour rates of the industry.

The competition from the prisons, said Mr Harris, had not really affected the disabled servicemen until this year. Now they had to keep on “boxing on” trying to make a bit of stock for the league’s shop in Gloucester street. “Even with stocking up the shop, there is a point of saturation,” said Mr Harris. “We realise that prisoners must be rehabilitated. But I believe they should put m their quotes on the same footing as anyone else—on the ruling rates that are paid for journeymen.” The district manager of the Disabled Servicemen’s Reestablishment League, Mr S. Commons. said Paparua Prison “had a marvellous set-up for cabinet making and spray-painting. “It was only in its infancy when I saw it,” he said. “The prison authorities said then that the set-up would not affect us.” Mr Commons said he hoped to visit the Paparua Prison work-shop within the next month, to investigate the output