Hong Kong denies 'slavery' as prisoners function nights to produce face masks
11 March, 2020
Hong Kong prison authorities rejected criticism of "modern slavery" on Tuesday (Mar 10) as feminine inmates started working night shifts to produce millions of face masks following the fast-spreading coronavirus triggered shortages.
Inmates at the Lo Wu prison include complained about their health insurance and low pay after regular production for government firms was doubled to 2.5 million masks amid surging require, explained lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun who met with the prisoners.
"That is an exploitation and another sort of contemporary slavery," said Shiu, a former social worker who provides been campaigning for prisoners' rights.
Prison officials defended your choice on Tuesday.
"All folks in custody participating in the night shift happen to be on a good voluntary basis," explained a good spokeswoman at the Hong Kong's Correctional Services Department, which oversees prisons.
"If indeed they found themselves certainly not adaptable to the night time shift work, they may approach the management anytime," she told the Thomson Reuters Basis in emailed comments.
More than 114,000 people have been infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus globally and more than 4,000 have died since it emerged found in China in December, sparking a rush for encounter masks even as overall health officials have said healthy persons do not need them.
Across Asia, the pass on of the flu-like virus has sparked a operate on masks, with some hospitals struggling to procure enough because of their staff, resulting in rationing and arrests for hoarding.
With round-the-clock production, female prisoners, often working night time shifts, earn about HK$800 (US$103) a month, Shiu said, which he said compared poorly to Hong Kong's minimum amount wage of HK$37.50 per hour.
"This is not a motivation payment - this is a good disincentive," said Shiu, himself a good prison laborer when he was jailed for five a few months last year over his role found in Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy protests.
The prison official said about 100 women prisoners work six days a week, for shifts of six to 10 time, sometimes during the night, and earn about HK$25 to HK$200 weekly, according to their skills or actual work.
About 1,200 retired or off-duty prison officers are as well working to make the masks, the federal government said.
Prisoners all over the world have already been put to do the job for centuries, although the US recommendations stipulate that inmates should not be held found in slavery and deserve a fair wage and decent function conditions.
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