INSIDE INFORMATION

national | miscellaneous | news report Sunday March 09, 2003 23:16 by Al - Anarchist Federation

INSIDE INFORMATION

Campaign against prison slavery

The launch meeting of the Campaign Against Prison
Slavery was held in Leeds on 1st February.
Labour is compulsory for all prisoners in British
jails.

Those failing to work face punishment including a
reduction in status (under the Incentives and Earned
Privileges Scheme prisoners are divided into 3 status
levels - Basic, Standard and Enhanced) It's nice
to see they even have a class system inside!

Prisoners are paid a pittance for what they do - one
example given at the meeting was of prisoners
receiving 9 quid for a 30 hour week. As great
restrictions are now placed on what can be sent in to
prisoners, this money will be spent virtually entirely
in the prison shop (run by Aramark) where prices do
not exactly compare to your
local Tesco.

With prisoners offering such cheap labour, more and
more companies are looking to make profits at their
expense. Whilst this in itself is immoral and
exploitative, it ultimately effects all working class
people - why should an employer pay you 300 quid a
week, when he can a prisoner less than a tenth of
that? Why should an employer have to tip-toe around
your legal rights when he can get the prison service
to force a prisoner to be obedient?

Direct action has already been successfully used in
the UK against companies using prison labour –
Hepworths Plumbers in Doncaster withdrew after their
premises were occupied by demonstrators. Most
companies are very shy about letting their staff and
customers know of their involvement in these
practices. These companies are in for a shock.

Sunday 5 April will see a national day of action
against prison slavery. Get out and do something in
your community. The main focus of demonstrations will
be Wilkinson's, just one of the many firms
profiting from prison slavery.

To get involved with the campaign Email:
[email protected] Tel: 07944 522001, or
write
to:
Campaign Against Prison Slavery
Cardigan Centre, 145-149 Cardigan
Street, Leeds LS6 1LJ.

US anarchists need support

Rob Thaxton and Brian McCarvil are in the Disciplinary

Segregation Unit of the US Oregon State Penitentiary.
They are Anarchist prisoners being singled out for
repression due to their beliefs.

Letters of support are needed to be written on their
behalf. The timeline is now - until they are out of
the hole. Letters should be
sent to:
Rebecca Prinslow, Inspector General, ODOC Central
Administration Office, 2575 Center Street, NE, Salem
OR 97301-4667, USA or
Email:
[email protected]

A sample letter is at:
www.ainfos.ca/en/ainfos11108.html
Send copies of all text messages and ODOC responses to

APLAN for their records at: [email protected] or
by post to:
Anarchist
Prisoners' Legal Aid Network,
818 SW 3rd Ave PMB 354
Portland, OR
97204, USA.

More info is available at:
http://www.defenestrator.org/roblosricos/index.html

From the pages of Resistance, regular monthly bulletin
of the Anarchist Federation (Britain)

http://www.afed.org.uk
http://www.afireland.cjb.net